As India ushered in its 68th year of independence, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) reiterated its commitment to immunise all Indian children. A public service message in the form of a music video ‘Phool Khil Jayenge’ was launched by Minster of Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan. Also present were renowned lyricist and Member of Parliament Javed Akhtar, actor Shabana Azmi, singer Sonu Nigam, and music director Lalit Pandit.
The song highlights the importance of immunisation in saving lives of Indian children, given that 14 lakh children under five years of age die every year in India due to preventable diseases, like pneumonia and diarrhoea. Just last month, the Prime Minister’s Office announced the introduction of four new vaccines, rotavirus, rubella, polio (injectable), and an adult vaccine for Japanese Encephalitis in districts with high burden.
The lyrics of the song have been written by well-known poet, scriptwriter and Rajya Sabha MP Javed Akhtar,and Bollywood actors Farhan Akhtar and Vidya Balan feature in the video. Prominent singers Sonu Nigam and Alka Yagnik sang the song and music director Lalit Pandit composed the music.
The Minister also highlighted that the MoHFW is committed to tackling child mortality and ensuring that the benefits of immunisation reach all sections of society, regardless of social and economic status.
A panel discussion titled ‘The Right of Every Child to Survive and Thrive,’ set the tone for the evening. The panellists included Health Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan, the Health Secretary, Lov Verma, the Additional Secretary from the Ministry of Health, CK Misra, Javed Akhtar, Sonu Nigam and Lalit Pandit.
The panel lauded the Government’s initiative for expanding the Universal Immunisation Programme and providing free vaccines against 13 life threatening diseases to 27 million children annually.
Currently, more than 14 lakh children under five die in India annually. Once children survive the first month, infectious diseases are the biggest threats to their survival despite being preventable. Diarrhoea and pneumonia account for more than 4,36,000 deaths among Indian children aged 1-59 months of age.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South East Asia Region said,” While our victory on polio is a matter of great celebration, let us also focus on other vaccine preventable diseases that are a major cause of deaths among children and pregnant women. WHO South-East Asia Region is fully committed to protecting all children from other vaccine preventable diseases.”
“Strengthening routine immunisation is critical for maintaining high population immunity against polio and also other vaccine preventable diseases. This, I believe, will help us keep polio at bay but also help us achieve our immunisation targets keeping our children safe and disease free,” she further added.
Congratulating the governments and the people of the southern states for their role in polio eradication, Dr Nata Menabde, WHO Representative to India said, “The programme has demonstrated that strong commitment and ownership from the political leaders and government at all levels in terms of sustained flow of resources; tireless efforts and resilience of the health workers to fight against all odds; technological innovations and refinement of programme strategies to improve programme reach; effective coordination between ministries and synergistic relationship among government and international agencies have earned success.”
“WHO India has initiated the process of setting-up offices at sub-national level in selected states for ensuring greater proximity to the states, local government health officials and other key stakeholders, increased technical and operational efficiency at state level with overall objectives to strengthen health systems, promote health equity and achieve better health outcomes for all,” she added.
EH News Bureau
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