Bhubaneswar: The health and family welfare department has launched a initiative this year aimed at ensuring immunisation coverage for children previously excluded from routine vaccinations. Through a two-month campaign running until Aug 31, officials will identify and include children who missed or dropped out of immunisation programmes.
The campaign will also target pregnant women who have not been tested for Hepatitis B.Throughout the campaign, accredited social health activists (ASHAs) will visit all households in both rural and urban areas to ensure the immunisation of children who were previously left out.
Sources said that by focusing on children who have missed routine immunisation and pregnant women who have not been tested for hepatitis B, the campaign aims to bridge the gap in healthcare accessibility. The involvement of ASHAs in visiting households and conducting community-level activities is crucial in achieving the campaign’s objectives, said a health department officer.
Health Secretary Shalini Pandit mentioned that all ASHAs are provided with a brochure for reference to conduct the community-level activities. The state-level campaign was launched on July 1. “We hope the campaign will be successfully implemented, attaining all its objectives, and we expect all the ASHAs to undertake activities in a proactive manner,” she added.
In addition, the state will integrate intensified diarrhea control efforts with other health activities involving ailments such as malaria, dengue, tuberculosis (TB), and leprosy. These activities have been organised since 2014. Immunization of left-out children has been added this year.
Last year, around 96 lakh households were covered under intensified diarrhoea control activities. About 29,000 children under five years of age were diagnosed with diarrhoea and were treated with ORS and zinc. Similarly, around 5,000 fever cases were tested for malaria and dengue. Hand washing was demonstrated in communities and schools.

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