SHILLONG: Meghalaya, which has low vaccination coverage, is facing several challenges, including superstition among people, in implementing the central immunisation programme.
B. Mawlong, Additional Director of Maternal Child Health and Family Welfare, told media persons on Thursday the Health Department faces resistance from people mostly in rural areas because of religious beliefs.
N. Roy, Surveillance Medical Officer for World Health Organisation, said the highest number of refusals to immunisation is in East Khasi Hills and people in Smit, Mawkynrew, Pomlum and Sohiong have expressed their apprehensions.
“Last year, there were 13 cases of measles in the State. Diphtheria and pneumonia are the commonest complications of measles which can also result in death,” said Roy.
The Health Department will launch the 4th round of Mission Indradhanush, which started in the State on February 7, on May 8 to get all children and pregnant women vaccinated.
The districts identified in the current phase are East Jaintia Hills, East Khasi Hills, North Garo Hills, South West Garo Hills, South West Khasi Hills, West Jaintia Hills and West Garo Hills.
Appeal to religious leaders, traditonal heads
Mawlong said medical officers have appealed to all religious leaders and traditional heads to extend their support to the immunisation programme.
“We are not being able to make much impact. Immunisation coverage is less but we still continue and it is improving,” she said and added that the deputy commissioner of East Khasi Hills has written to religious leaders and traditional heads to sensitise people about immunisation.
Also, remoteness of some areas, weather conditions and shortage of manpower are other problems that the Department faces, Mawlong said.
Roy stressed on the need to mobilise ASHA workers to reach out to different communities.
“We are selectively targeting children who are due for vaccination but did not get vaccinated as some diseases are not cured,” he said.
There are two categories of children, left out children are those who have not been vaccinated yet and dropouts are those who have received vaccination but there are no follow-ups, Roy added.
The routine immunisation programme provides free vaccination against life-threatening diseases like measles, Japanese Encephalitis, meningitis, pneumonia, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis and Hepatitis B.
On how the districts have been identified, Mawlong said it was done on the basis of the number of partially vaccinated and unvaccinated children and whether the district is an identified high priority or high risk zone.
“Nearly 50 per cent of all unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children in India are from these districts,” she said.
Mawlong stated that routine immunisation campaigns in these districts will reduce mortality rate. Catch-up campaigns will help in rapidly increasing full immunisation coverage.
Three rounds of MI implemented
Meanwhile, the State Government has already implemented three rounds of Mission Indradhanush Phase IV.
While the last round of MI Phase IV will be implemented from May 8, the other three rounds involving seven days of intensified immunization drives each were held from February 7, March 7 and April 7, respectively.
Earlier, in MI Phase I, which was implemented in West Khasi Hills, East Khasi Hills and West Garo Hills, the total number of children vaccinated in the age group of 0-2 years was 26887.
Apart from the three districts in which the MI was launched, four additional districts were added to the immunization coverage in Phase II which included East Garo Hills, Jaintia Hills, Ri-Bhoi, South Garo Hills.
In the second phase, the total number of children vaccinated was 33667 in the age group of 0-1 year.
In the third phase, MI was launched in East Khasi Hills, West Khasi hills and West Garo hills. The total number of children vaccinated was 14269 in the age group of 0-2 years.
