Principal Secretary, Health and Medical Education, Dr Pawan Kotwal today directed the concerned officers to work in synergy with the line departments for the success of MissionIndradhanush (MI)- a massive polio immunization drive being launched in 124 identified villages across 9 districts of Jammu division.Dr Kotwal was speaking at a meeting convened to review the preparedness forthe Polio immunization.It was informed in the meeting that the special Pulse Polio immunization program under Mission Indradhanush is to be held in three rounds under Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (GSA) to cover 124 identified villages across 9 districts of Jammu division. “The first round is going to start from 23rd April and continue till April 27, 2018” the meeting was told.It was informed that during the program, pregnant women and children aged between zero and two years would be covered for immunization.The meeting was further informed that training to front line workers is in progress in all the MI districts of Jammu division while the village level data of beneficiaries has also been uploaded in GSA portal to make the process easy for the ground level workers during the immunization.Officials said the required vaccines will be supplied in cold chain once received by the department in Jammu, even as all other logistics have been made available at all MI blocks across Jammu.
The officers said that DDCs of all 9 districts have been informed to provide assistance during the immunization drive in their respective areas, while the defense officials have been asked to provide Road Opening Party (ROPs) in border areas.Dr Kotwal directed the concerned officers to visit slums and educate people about the advantages of immunization and take necessary support from other district departments including ICDS, RDD, Youth Affairs and DDC of concerned districts to make program a success.He also directed to generate public awareness through mass media, conduct community meetings to influence resistant families and hold awareness programs in MI identified schools.He further directed the officers to work in a coordinated manner to identify the obstructions in the immunization process, if any and find solutions to remove the bottlenecks to ensure that children are fully immunized.While commending the pulse polio drive in the state, Dr Kotwal said that visible change has been seen on ground and the state has witnessed least number of polio cases from last few years.The meeting was attended by the Director Family Welfare, MCH J&K, Dr Samir Mattoo, Director Information and Public Relations, Muneer ul Islam, ADDC Jammu, Suraiya Jabeen, Director RDD Jammu, RK Bhat, Joint Director School Education Jammu, Ajit Kumar, DD Schemes Health, Dr Dimple Singh, Divisional Nodal Officer NHM, Dr Harjeet Rai, SMO, WHO Jammu, Dr Ravinder Singh, State Nodal Officer, Dr Qazi Haroon and others were present in the meeting.