Skip to main content

*Scale-up routine immunization along with COVID-19 vaccination: WHO*

 Kathmandu, 8 September 2021 – The World Health Organization today urged countries in South-East Asia Region to enhance routine immunization along with the ongoing efforts to rapidly increase COVID-19 vaccination coverage.


“The vulnerability to vaccine preventable diseases has increased with the pandemic disrupting essential immunization services and surveillance for vaccine preventable disease. Though efforts are being made, much more needs to be done specially at the sub-national levels and to reach the unreached and underserved population,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, at the Seventy-Fourth Regional Committee meeting.


Recalling the strong progress made until the onset of the pandemic, the Regional Director said, by 2019 the Region was in a historically best position related to vaccine preventable disease control with 91% coverage with three doses of DTP vaccine (DTP3). Ten of 11 countries had achieved more than 90% DTP3 coverage.


Though routine immunization services were among the first essential services that countries began to restore during the pandemic, the DTP3 coverage in the Region dipped to 85% in 2020. The number of unvaccinated or partially vaccinated children increased to 4.9 million as against 3 million in 2019. Surveillance of vaccine preventable diseases was also affected.


The COVID-19 pandemic has also impacted implementation of strategies for measles and rubella elimination, a flagship priority in the Region. The estimated coverage with the first dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) in the Region declined to 88% in 2020 compared with 94% in 2019. Similarly, coverage with the second dose of measles-containing vaccine declined to 78% in 2020 compared with 83% in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic has also resulted in surveillance gaps in several countries and has delayed implementation of mass vaccination campaigns and other immunization-related activities.


“There is an urgent need to repair the damage caused by COVID-19, to regain the momentum achieved in the previous decade, and to protect infants, young people and adults with life-saving vaccines,” Dr Khetrapal Singh said.


The ongoing Regional Committee meeting discussed the Strategic Framework for the South-East Asia Regional Vaccine Action Plan 2022−2030 which focuses on the roll-out of COVID-19 vaccination and restoration of immunization systems and vaccine-preventable disease surveillance from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.


We need to ensure strategies are in place to maintain and enhance routine immunization without impacting the efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccination rates, the Regional Director said. Adequate human resources for routine immunization and COVID-19 vaccination, efforts to build confidence among people to access immunization services and having Standard Operating Procedures in place for enhancing immunization activities immediately following cessation of lockdown periods, are some of the critical measures that need to be taken, she said.


“Implementation of the framework will need high-level political and programmatic commitment and partner collaboration to which WHO is committed,” the Regional Director said.


Countries in the Region are making unprecedented efforts to expand COVID-19 vaccination coverage with over 915 million doses administered across the Region. The availability of more vaccine doses in recent weeks has helped scale up coverage.


Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the Region has maintained its status of having eradicated polio and eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus. Measles elimination has been achieved and maintained in five countries, while two of these countries have also achieved rubella elimination. Four countries have been verified as having achieved hepatitis B control through immunization.


The Regional Committee meeting is the annual governing body meeting of WHO South-East Asia Region. Being hosted by Nepal, the meeting is being held virtually for the second consecutive year in view of the pandemic.

Popular posts from this blog

छतरपुर जिला चिकित्सालय को मिलेअत्याधुनिक जांच उपकरण एस्सेल माइनिंग द्वारा सी-आर्म, रक्त जांच एवं अन्य उपकरण दान

 छतरपुर की स्वास्थ्य अधोसंरचना को मजबूत बनाने के ध्येय को आगे बढ़ाते हुए एस्सेल माइनिंग द्वारा शुक्रवार को छतरपुर जिला चिकित्सालय में अत्याधुनिक सी-आर्म इमेजिंग डिवाइस, हाई फ़्लो नैज़ल कैनुला समेत त्वरित रक्त जांच उपकरण एवं मोरचुरी फ्रीजर भेंट किया गया।  जिला कलेक्टर श्री संदीप जी आर ने फीता काटकर नई सुविधाओं का शुभारंभ किया। इस अवसर पर मुख्य चिकित्सा एवं स्वास्थ्य अधिकारी डॉ विजय पथोरिया एवं अस्पताल के अन्य अधिकारी-कर्मचारी उपस्थित रहे। नए उपकरणों के साथ छतरपुर जिला चिकित्सालय के सुविधाओं में वृद्धि होने के साथ ही हजारों नागरिकों को नई जाँचों का लाभ मिल सकेगा और त्वरित जांच प्राप्त हो सकेगी।कलेक्टर श्री श्री संदीप जी आर द्वारा इस अवसर पर अस्पताल परिसर में पौधा रोपण भी किया गया।  एस्सेल माइनिंग द्वारा लगातार छतरपुर जिले की स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं को उन्नत बनाने में सतत योगदान दिया जा रहा है। पूर्व में गुरुवार को कंपनी द्वारा बक्सवाहा के सामुदायिक स्वास्थ्य केंद्र को बड़ा मलहरा विधायक श्री प्रद्युम्न सिंह लोधी की उपस्थिति में एडवांस्ड लाइफ सपोर्ट एम्बुलेंस भेंट की गई। वेंटीलेटर जैसी सुविधाओं के सा

कर्नाटका बैंक ने इक्विपमेंट फाइनेंसिंग बिजनेस के लिये जेसीबी इंडिया लिमिटेड के साथ साझेदारी की

 कर्नाटका बैंक ने भारत में अर्थमूविंग एवं कंस्‍ट्रक्‍शन इक्विपमेंट बनाने वाली प्रमुख कंपनी जेसीबी इंडिया लिमिटेड के साथ एक समझौता ज्ञापन (एमओयू) पर हस्‍ताक्षर किये हैं। जेसीबी इंडिया लिमिटेड के साथ किए गए इस गठजोड़ की मदद से बैंक के एमएसएमई पोर्टफोलियो के तहत ऋण की सुविधा बेहतर होगी।   इस एमओयू के अंतर्गत, जेसीबी अपने फाइनेंस पार्टनर के तौर पर कर्नाटका बैंक को नॉमिनेट करेगी। परिणामस्‍वरूप, लोग/ठेकेदार/कंपनी/भागीदार कंपनियाँ/एलएलपी, आदि जेसीबी इंडिया लिमिटेड की उत्‍पाद श्रृंखला से विश्‍व-स्‍तरीय उपकरण खरीदने के लिये बैंक से प्रतिस्‍पर्द्धी ब्‍याज दरों पर लोन ले सकेंगे।    इस एमओयू पर हस्‍ताक्षर करने के बाद, कर्नाटका बैंक के प्रबंध निदेशक एवं सीईओ श्री महाबलेश्‍वरा एम.एस. ने कहा, “हमारा फोकस क्रेडिट विकास पर होने के नाते, बैंक एमएसएमई की फाइनेंसिंग में आगे रहता है। हम जेसीबी के साथ एमओयू पर हस्‍ताक्षर करके सचमुच खुश हैं, क्‍योंकि उत्‍कृष्‍टता, सत्‍यनिष्‍ठा और स्‍थायित्‍वपूर्ण विकास के हमारे मूल्‍य उनसे मिलते-जुलते हैं। हमारा बैंक अपने ग्राहकों को डिजिटल प्‍लेटफॉर्म के माध्‍यम से आकर्षक ब

*Reusable pads essential to make menstrual hygiene sustainable for all women and girls*

 If every woman and girl of menstruating age in India used disposable pads, 38,500,000,000 used pads would be discarded every month – an environmental disaster since each of these would take 500-800 years to degrade naturally XXX / May 26, 2021: Considering the immense non-biodegradable waste generated by disposable sanitary pads every month, sustainable menstrual hygiene in India can be achieved only with reusable pads made of organic material, said Anju Bist, Co-Director, Amrita SeRVe (Self Reliant Village) Program of Mata Amritanandamayi Math. Known as the “Pad Woman” of India for her zeal in promoting the use and reuse of sanitary pads made of cloth and banana fibre, she is the co-creator of Saukhyam Reusable Pads which have been awarded as the "Most Innovative Product" by the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad. The pads were also lauded at the UN Climate Change Conference held in Poland in 2018. Said Anju Bist: “There are 355 million menstruating women an