Mission Indradhanush is a government scheme launched on 25th December 2014 to ensure that children and pregnant women receive life-saving vaccines. The mission targets individuals who have been left out or are partially vaccinated against preventable diseases.
Part of the Universal Immunisation Program, let’s learn about this government scheme in detail.
Overview
| Aspect | Details |
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| Launch Date | 25th December 2014 |
| Objective | Achieve full immunisation coverage for children and pregnant women. |
| Diseases Covered | Tuberculosis, polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, measles, hepatitis B, and others. |
| Key Partners | WHO, UNICEF, Rotary International, and other donors. |
| Implementation Strategy | Phased approach focusing on high-risk areas and missed populations. |
| Intensified Mission Indradhanush | Aims to achieve 90% immunisation coverage by targeting hard-to-reach populations. |
Read More: Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK)
What Is Mission Indradhanush?
Mission Indradhanush aims to immunise every child and pregnant woman in India against preventable diseases. The focus is on those who have missed or skipped vaccination to ensure their complete protection.
Objective
Mission Indradhanush is aimed at administering necessary immunisation to every child and pregnant woman in India including life-threatening diseases like tuberculosis, measles, rubella, polio, and others. This is implemented to focus on children who have not received immunisation services by ensuring that they are fully protected.
Read More: Understanding National Health Mission
Implementation
The campaign is conducted through immunisation-focused campaigns known as catch-up campaigns. There’s no drive for children and pregnant women and yet these drives are to ensure support which was lacking in these groups. Immunisation activities are conducted in targeted groups including people living in groups like urban poor settlements, construction sites and rural populations. Pregnant women also get tetanus vaccines, while children and families are also given ORS packets, zinc tablets and vitamin A doses to enhance their immunity and prevent them from getting dehydrated.
District-Wise Implementation Of Mission Indradhanush
Mission Indradhanush was implemented in phases to improve vaccination in different parts of India. Each phase targeted specific districts with low immunisation rates. Here’s how the programme was rolled out district-wise:
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Phase I (April 2015): The Programme was implemented in 201 high-focus districts, administering more than 75 lakh children and 20 lakh pregnant women.
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Phase II (October 2015): Increased to 352 districts, and pushed up immunisation to 1.48 crore children and 38 lakh pregnant women.
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Phase III (April-July 2016): Focused on 216 districts with low immunisation rates, providing coverage to 2.1 crore children and 55.9 lakh pregnant women.
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Phase IV (February 2017): Focus their operations in the North–Eastern States.
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Subsequent Phases (Up to 2023): Over 12 phases, Mission Indradhanush vaccinated 5.06 crore children and 1.25 crore pregnant women across the country.
Read More: ABHA Card Registration | Apply for ABHA ID
What Is Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)?
IMI stands for Intensified Mission Indradhanush, It was however to enhance immunisation coverage by targeting districts which had low coverage and this led to the establishment of IMI. The target is to achieve 90 % immunisation coverage of children by December 2018. Areas of operation were the hard-to-reach regions and urban poor neighbourhoods; children below 5 years of age and Pregnant women embarked on missing doses of the vaccine.
The Four Pillars Of Mission Indradhanush
Mission Indradhanush is a government initiative to improve immunisation coverage in India. It focuses on reaching children and pregnant women in areas with low vaccination rates. The programme is built on four main strategies:
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Meticulous Planning: Identifying high-risk areas such as urban slums, brick kilns, and nomadic sites.
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Effective Communication: Generating awareness through mass media, interpersonal communication, and partnerships with youth and corporate networks.
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Intensive Training: Building the capacity of health workers and officials.
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Accountability Framework: Establishing district task forces and real-time monitoring to address implementation gaps.
How Are IMI 3.0 And 4.0 Different From Previous Phases?
| IMI 3. 0 | Initiated in 2021; targets districts where the impact of COVID-19 was felt by vaccinating children and pregnant women who may have missed their shots. They experimented with two phases, 250 districts in total. |
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| IMI 4. 0 | Launched in 2022 and in 3 rounds, this campaign targeted 416 districts with major emphasis placed on reaching 90% full immunization coverage by the end of the campaign. |
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What Is IMI 5.0?
IMI 5.0 Mission Indradhanush has been further divided into phases now the current and the newest phase is Indradhanush 2023. It is to increase measles and rubella vaccination taking a targeted group of children up to five years. The campaign also unveiled the U-WIN smart card to be used in recording vaccinations. IMI 5.0 was conducted in three phases with the majority of the states finalizing the campaign by October 2023.
Conclusion
Mission Indradhanush has proved to be revolutionary in raising coverage of immunisation in India as well as in saving millions of people’s lives, through systematic and consolidated vaccinations. The campaign has been able to gain ground with the help of dedicated health workers, the government and our international partners the campaign goes on to ensure that every child and pregnant woman is protected from preventable diseases.
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