Union Health Minister, Mansukh Mandaviya, launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 4.0 virtually on February 7, 2022.
Key Facts
- India is running the largest inoculation drive globally in which more than 3 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore children are covered through Universal Immunisation Programme annually.
- The IMI 4.0 will have three rounds and it will be conducted across 416 districts, across 33 states and UTs. It also includes 75 districts identified for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
- On the occasion, IMI 4.0 portal was also launched.
- Minister also released the “Operational Guidelines for IMI 4.0 – “Strengthening Immunisation in Urban Areas-A framework for Action”. It is a handbook for “Mahila Arogya Samiti on Urban Immunisation”.
Significance of the programme
- This programme will immensely contribute in filling the gaps as well as make lasting gains for universal immunisation.
- It will ensure that Routine Immunisation (RI) services reaches to the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children & pregnant women.
First round of IMI 4.0
First round of the IMI 4.0 will be implemented during February 2022 to April 2022. In the first round, 11 States will conduct IMI 4.0. These states include Assam, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Tripura.
Second Round of IMI 4.0
Second Round of IMI 4.0 will be implemented from April 2022 to May 2022, across 22 States. These States and UTs, include Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Bihar, Odisha, Delhi, Puducherry, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Telangana, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.
When was mission Indradhanush launched?
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Mission Indradhanush in December 2014, with the aim of increasing full immunisation coverage. It was launched for covering partially and unvaccinated children and pregnant women, in pockets of high-risk, hard-to-reach and low immunisation coverage areas. This mission was focused on protecting them from vaccine preventable diseases. This mission was also identified as one of the flagship schemes under Gram Swaraj Abhiyan and Extended Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
Background
Till date, ten phases of Mission Indradhanush have been completed. 701 districts have been covered across India. As on April 2021, 96.8 lakh pregnant women and 3.86 crore children have been vaccinated.