Mission Indradhanush

Mission Indradhanush was introduced by the Indian Government in 2014 to strengthen and re-energize the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), which only managed to immunize 54% of children in their initial years.

Objective

The Mission was launched with the objective of ensuring complete immunization with all available vaccines for children aged two or below and pregnant women. For this purpose, the Government has identified 201 high-focus districts across 28 states in the country that have the greatest number of partially immunized and unimmunized children.

Implementation

The programme seeks to have a focused and systematic immunization drive through a “catch-up” campaign mode, where the aim is to cover children who were not given immunization. Moreover, women who are pregnant are administered the tetanus vaccine, ORS packets and zinc tablets in instances of severe diarrhoea or dehydration. Vitamin A doses are administered to boost child immunity. For the implementation of this scheme, the Government is being technically aided by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Rotary International and other donor partners. Mass media, interpersonal communication, and sturdy mechanisms of monitoring and evaluating the scheme form the crucial components of the initiative.

Key Focus Areas

The Mission concentrates on high-risk settlements identified by the polio eradication programme, which includes pockets with low coverage due to geographic, demographic, ethnic and other operational challenges. Evidence suggests that most of the unvaccinated and partially vaccinated children are based at these locales. To make it precise, the following areas are targeted through special immunization campaigns:

High-risk areas identified by the polio eradication programme, which includes populations residing in habitats such as urban slums with migration, nomads, brick kilns, constructions sites, other migrants, and hard to reach populations.
Areas with low Routine Immunization (RI) coverage which had an outbreak of Measles/Vaccine Preventable Disease (VPD).
Areas with vacant sub-centres.
Areas with missed Routine Immunization (RI) sessions.
Small villages, hamlets, dhanis or purbas clubbed with another village for RI sessions and not having independent RI sessions.

Strategy

The strategy for this mission is formulated on the basis of evidence and best practices, and includes the following basic elements:

Meticulous Planning of Campaigns/Sessions at all Levels

The first of the four basic elements relate to the revision of micro-plans in all blocks and urban areas in each district to ensure the availability of sufficient vaccinations and all vaccines during routine immunization sessions. Moreover, the development of special plans has been sought to cater to the unreached children in more the 4,000 risk settlements like urban slums, construction kites, brick kilns, nomadic sites and hard-to-reach areas.

Effective Communication and Social Mobilization Efforts

The Mission seeks to generate awareness and demand for immunization services through need-based communication strategies and social mobilization activities. This is to enhance community participation in the routine immunization programme through mass media, mid-media, Interpersonal Communication (IPC), school and youth networks and corporates.

Intensive Training of Health Officials and Frontline Workers

The capacity of health officials and workers in routine immunization activities would be built to enable them in providing quality immunization services.

Establishment of Accountability Framework Through Task Forces

The object of this element is to increase the involvement and accountability/ownership of the district administration and health machinery by strengthening the district task forces for immunization across all Indian districts and ensuring the use of concurrent session monitoring data to address any implementation gaps on a real-time basis.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Mission Indradhanush.

Mission Indradhanush is a flagship program launched by the Indian government in 2014 to strengthen and revitalize the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). Its primary objective is to ensure complete immunization of children aged two or below and pregnant women across the country.

Mission Indradhanush was introduced because the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) was only able to immunize 54% of children in its initial years. The mission aims to address this gap and improve immunization coverage, especially in high-risk areas and hard-to-reach populations.

The mission concentrates on high-risk settlements identified by the polio eradication programme, including urban slums, nomadic populations, construction sites, brick kilns, and other hard-to-reach areas. It also targets areas with low routine immunization coverage, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, vacant sub-centres, and missed routine immunization sessions.

Mission Indradhanush is implemented through a "catch-up" campaign mode, where the aim is to cover children who were not given immunization previously. It also involves administering tetanus vaccines, ORS packets, zinc tablets, and Vitamin A doses to pregnant women and children. The government is being technically aided by organizations like WHO, UNICEF, and Rotary International.

The key strategies of Mission Indradhanush include meticulous planning of campaigns and sessions, effective communication and social mobilization efforts, intensive training of health officials and frontline workers, and the establishment of an accountability framework through district task forces.

Mission Indradhanush has identified 201 high-focus districts across 28 states in the country that have the greatest number of partially immunized and unimmunized children.

Communication and social mobilization play a crucial role in generating awareness and demand for immunization services. The mission aims to enhance community participation through mass media, mid-media, interpersonal communication, school and youth networks, and corporate partnerships.

The mission emphasizes intensive training of health officials and frontline workers to enable them to provide quality immunization services. It aims to build their capacity in routine immunization activities.

To increase accountability and ownership, Mission Indradhanush has established district task forces for immunization across all Indian districts. These task forces use concurrent session monitoring data to address any implementation gaps on a real-time basis.

The key partners supporting the implementation of Mission Indradhanush include the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Rotary International, and other donor partners.