After polio, India aims to eradicate measles

After successfully eradicating polio, India is now moving ahead to eliminate measles-related child deaths and neonatal tetanus across the country.

The Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Sunday said the learnings and lessons from the polio programme could prove to be extremely useful in accomplishing the tasks of elimination of measles related child deaths and neonatal tetanus in India.

Azad stressed that strengthening routine immunisation was an imperative to guard against polio and both distant and international importations.

" 2012 has been declared the year of the intensification of Routine Immunization. We intend to accelerate routine immunization activities from 1st April itself through special immunization drives, with a special focus on 207 districts recording low routine immunization coverage," Azad informed.

He added that 26 million mothers and children have already been registered under the web enabled mother and child tracking system set up by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

While addressing the valedictory session of the two-day Polio Summit 2012, the Minister urged Rotary International, WHO, UNICEF, CDC, Gates Foundation, GAVI and other partners to work to provide impetus to routine immunization and synergize polio eradication and Routine Immunization strategies.

Introduction of second dose of measles started in some 14 States where coverage is less than 80 percent. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the target is to cover more than 130 million children under the campaign.

Recently, the World Health Organisation removed India's name off the list of polio endemic countries in view of the progress that India achieved by being polio free for the past one year.

Speaking at the inaugural of the Polio Summit 2012 in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the coordinated efforts of the Govt of India with close partnership of states governments, international organizations and groups including the Rotary International, the WHO and UNICEF and the 23 lakh volunteers as also supervisors, has helped to rid India of the "terrible scourge of polio".

"It is a matter of satisfaction that we have completed one year without any single new case of polio being reported from anywhere in the country. This gives us hope that we can finally eradicate polio not only from India but from the face of the entire mother earth. The success of our efforts shows that teamwork pays," Singh said.

The Prime Minister also emphasized the need for nutritious food, safe drinking water, proper sanitation and education in addition to Universal access to safe vaccines.

He stated that the country must accelerate its efforts to achieve goal of providing universal access to health care at affordable cost for all citizens. "The rising cost of health care is another key challenge. We are, therefore focusing our attention towards social security of the poor with regard to their health care," he said.