A shot in the arm for our children

With a generation of Indians growing up with aspirations of global leadership, the spectre of debilitating diseases has become less evident. Many in their 20s are unlikely to know about the diseases that afflicted this nation even four years ago.

Small pox and polio come to mind. Despite this, almost one out of every three children continues to be is deprived of the full benefits of the immunisation programme.

A significant proportion of the population on the margins of society is excluded from various public programmes and suffers from vaccine-preventable illnesses.

It is critical to understand that immunisation prevents disease where medical care isn’t an option or because quality care is just not available.

Often, when a child in extremely straitened circumstances is taken ill, medical care could be a few days’ travel away. Communities must appreciate that preventing disease is far less expensive than treating severe illness, and vaccines are among the most cost-effective options.

Healthier children also do better developmentally, especially in school, grow up to be smarter adults, and give parents more time to be productive at home and at work.

A sense of urgency It is with urgency that the World Health Organisation (WHO) is supporting countries to close the immunisation gap. World Immunisation Week signals a renewed global, regional, and national effort to increase awareness.

This year’s campaign focuses on closing the immunisation gap and reaching equity in immunisation levels as outlined in the Global Vaccine Action Plan, which is a framework to prevent millions of deaths by 2020 through universal access to vaccines for people in all communities. The national immunisation campaign, ‘Indradhanush’, launched on April 7, envisions 100 per cent coverage of routine vaccines in India by 2020.

These efforts need to be matched with the community keeping up the demand for immunisation. A recent Unicef survey says nearly one-third of children do not return for their scheduled immunisations in India as parents are either unaware of subsequent doses or unsure how to deal with fever, pain or swellings that may result from some vaccine shots. India thus has a high number of partially immunised children, leaving them vulnerable to disease and premature death.

It takes close to two years before a child can be said to have been fully immunised.

Banish misconceptions Vaccines are almost like a lifelong insurance against life-threatening infections. Mild fever, swelling or crankiness for a day or so can be easily managed.

Occasionally, parents may hear that vaccines cause severe damage to their children, but this is not true. In fact, the Union Government has set up an elaborate system to investigate every such incident.

It is only after due diligence about safety that any new vaccine is allowed in the national immunisation programme. Immunisation benefits all sections of society.

The risk of death is highest in poor and socially marginalised sections, but vulnerability to diseases exists across social and economic classes.

There is no scope for complacency by anyone — immunisation is a child’s right; it is the prime duty of parents and the responsibility of the state to keep the next generation healthy and free of diseases.

Immunisation coverage is an indicator of societal equity; the public health system has to ensure that the most vulnerable are not left out, lest we continue to be embarrassed with high, albeit avoidable, infant and child mortality despite our economic achievements.

The writer is the executive director of The INCLEN Trust International, New Delhi

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