UDALGURI, Oct 14 - The Udalguri district Health and Family Welfare Department has started the immunisation of pregnant women and children in the 32 sub-health centres of the district from October 8 and it would continue till January 16 next year.
This was informed to mediapersons by Dr Ganesh Ch Brahma, Joint Director of Health Services (i/c) of Udalguri district.
Dr Brahma said that due to lack of awareness, publicity and other allied reasons, children and pregnant women of the 32 sub-health centres of Udalguri district could not avail the facility of immunisation on time and as such the Health Department has undertaken this special initiative to complete 90 per cent of the immunisation within five years, under the Mission Indradhanush Scheme of the Government.
The scheme will cover children in the age group of 0-2 years and pregnant women, the health officer said.
Meanwhile, the Health Department has also undertaken an initiative to take up JE vaccination programme from November 13 to be completed within 15 days. Dr Brahma said that the facility of JE vaccination in the age group of 16-65 years will be made available in Udalguri and Barpeta districts.
Our Silchar correspondent adds: The Mission Indradhanush, the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) of the Central Government, was also launched in Cachar district recently.
Dr Rumi Nath, MLA Borkhola and Parliamentary Secretary of State (Health), inaugurated the scheme at the SM Dev Civil Hospital in the presence of Borenya Das, ADC (Health), and officials of the district Health Department.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Rumi Nath said that immunisation is important to protect the children from threatening diseases like measles and polio. �The scheme is meant for wiping off lethal diseases and I hope that there will be total immunisation in the district,� Dr Nath said, adding that the Congress Government has sanctioned Rs 50 lakh for a blood bank at the local civil hospital.
Dr Ashim Kumar Das, District Immunisation Officer, said that the immunisation programme will cover partially or unvaccinated children below two years of age. He informed that the district administration has made necessary arrangements in 587 health centres in remote parts of the district, where ASHA and Anganwadi workers have been given the responsibility to vaccinate the left-out and drop-out children during the first seven days, excluding Sundays and Wednesdays, beginning from this month which will continue till January 2016.