Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Odisha Health minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak were present during the launch of the vaccine, which will also be rolled out in three other states namely, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
“This happens to be a historical moment for me to witness this launching of rotavirus vaccine. This is not a routine program. It is a historical occasion and the program sets a goal in the field of public health. By launching this rotavirus we are taking a pledge to give this vaccine to 27 million children throughout the length and the breadth of the country. This is certainly going to help in reducing IMR and also see to it that the public health is taken care of. We all know that approximately yearly 80,000 children die because of rotavirus and approximately 10 lakh children are hospitalized yearly suffering from rotavirus disease. It is very fatal and the time span to take care is very less. It is a very cost effective intervention which has taken place and it is also going to bring a change in health scenario of the children and see to it that we are able to address the issue of IMR. I am very happy and thankful to the Odisha government. We wanted to launch here in Odisha to create awareness. This program is certainly going to bring a difference. Today rotavirus vaccine has been launched in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh and Haryana in coming times it will be launched nationwide,” said Nadda.
“I would like to thank the Union Health and Family welfare ministry for the national level launch of the rotavirus vaccine in Odisha. The initiative of the Indian government to launch vaccines like rotavirus is significant for the Public health cause. While concluding I would like to bring on board various issues of the Centre and State related to public health and these should not be dealt in isolation. Improving the medical education, para medical education, infrastructure, bed strength and availability of drugs and diagnostics etc have to be taken care of simultaneously in a multi-faceted way to have an impact. Each of these aspects needs to be given focus and adequate attention of the government which is possible when there is a good collaboration between centre and state government. The government of Odisha places its commitment for all the public health initiatives including immunization programme in the right direction. We would certainly take all out steps for effective implementation of vaccine against rotavirus. In this regard, I would like to bring to the kind attention of the Union minister some of the pending issues of the State government like budgetary support for establishment of five new medical colleges, support for the regional cancer institute, upgrade of AHRCs into apex centre of excellence on Cancer, setting up of institute of mental health and neuroscience at par with NIMHANS, central institute of Yoga and Naturopathy, and opening of medical institute of para medical science at Bhubaneswar etc,” said Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak
During his visit, the health minister will also visit the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar and hold a review meeting.
According to sources, the government, along with Unicef, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other stakeholders are launching the rotavirus vaccination program under which an estimated 8.53 lakh children under the age of one year will be administered the vaccine annually.
The program will also be launched in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
During his visit, the health minister will also hold a review meeting at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar.
According to sources, the government, along with Unicef, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other stakeholders are launching the rotavirus vaccination program under which an estimated 8.53 lakh children under the age of one year will be administered the vaccine annually.
The program will also be launched in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Measles, a childhood killer disease which can be particularly dangerous among unimmunised and malnourished children, is one of the major health risks for the refugees who have fled their homes in Myanmar's Rakhine State, said the office of the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, Xinhua reported.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that Rohingya refugees continue to flee into Bangladesh, although at a slower rate than in previous weeks.
As of Wednesday, 613,000 refugees had arrived in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, since August 25, when attacks by Rohingya rebels on Myanmar police and security posts touched off retribution.
More than half of new arrivals are staying in the Kutupalong-Balukhali expansion site, which merges several pre-existing settlements with new land allocated by the Bangladeshi government, said OCHA.
As of Friday, the Rohingya Refugee Crisis Response Plan has received $143.5 million, or a third of requirements. Donors pledged a total of $360 million for the response last month, and the United Nations urges donors to disburse this money as quickly as possible.
On Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed his call for unfettered humanitarian access to Myanmar's northern Rakhine State and demanded the dignified return of the Rohingya refugees to their homes.
"We insist on the need to make sure, not only that all violence against this population stops, but also we need to insist on unhindered humanitarian access to all areas of Rakhine State, including the northern part of this region," he told reporters here in New York prior to his trip to Bonn, Germany for a UN climate conference.
"We insist on the need to reassert the right of return ... for all the population that fled to Bangladesh and to the areas of origin -- not to be placed in camps, not having access to the places where they left."
Guterres emphasized the importance of addressing the root cause of the problem, which relies largely on the problems related to citizenship for the Rohingyas -- an Indo-Aryan Muslim minority in overwhelmingly Buddhist Myanmar -- and to the legal status of this population "that has been discriminated and that is stateless at the present moment."
The vaccination programme will also be launched in Andhra Pradesh, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh by union Health Minister J.P. Nadda at a special programme here, said Odisha's director, family welfare, Nirmala Dei.
She said it is expected to save more than lakh lives per year from diarrhoea.
The government, along with Unicef, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other stakeholders are launching the rotavirus vaccination programme and an estimated 8.53 lakh children under the age of one year will be administered the vaccine annually, said Dr Nirmala Dei.
Presently, more that 1.50 lakh children die in the country due to the disease every year, of which rotavirus accounts to 50 per cent of the deaths, said Odisha's additional director, child health, Hemant Kumar Mishra.
The focus of this campaign is to accelerate and ensure full immunisation coverage in Jammu and Kashmir, specially in areas where immunisation coverage has been low, Health Minister Bali Bhagat said.
Bhagat along with Minister of State for Health Asiea Naqash launched the campaign at the Kote Bhalwal sub-district hospital, where they administered doses to children, a spokesman said.
The state's campaign was started following the launch of a nation-wide intensified drive under the Mission by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Vadnagar in Gujarat today, he said.
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has devised an aggressive action plan under the Mission to achieve full immunisation by 2018, the health minister said.
Under the plan, all states would conduct an intensified drive under the Mission for seven days from the seventh day of every month till January, 2018, Bhagat said.
"The first phase for 2017, started today, and it shall continue for four consecutive months. The drive would not be conducted on Sundays and holidays," Bhagat said.
He said under the campaign, greater focus would be laid on urban areas.
"This will be done through mapping of all under-served population in urban areas followed by need-based deployment of necessary staff," Bhagat said.
Mobility support to field staff for deployment to such areas in urban as well as rural areas will be provided, he said.
New Delhi: The Union government will launch pneumonia vaccine, under its universal immunisation programme, in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh on May 13.
The vaccine, which gives protection against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria, will be launched by Union Health Minister J P Nadda.
In the first phase, the vaccine will be administered under routine immunisation programme in parts of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and entire Himachal Pradesh, a senior health ministry official said.
This is the twelfth disease against which vaccine is being introduced in the country. The other diseases for which vaccines have already been introduced under the routine immunisation programme include, tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, measles, polio and others.
The vaccine will reduce mortality due to pneumonia in the country, where at present, more than one lakh children die of the disease every year, the official said.