To celebrate National Immunisation Day, President Pranab Mukherjee launched the countrywide programme for 2017 by administering polio drops to children aged below five years.
The programme will cover around 17 crore children aged under five years.
It will make an effort to maintain the country’s polio-free status.
Immunization is one of the key interventions in reducing child deaths in country.
Rotavirus virus vaccine has been introduced as part of the Universal Immunisation Programme last year.
The Ministry will soon introduce Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine to reduce the burden of diarrhea, pneumonia and meningitis
It will also conduct a countrywide campaign with Measles-Rubella vaccine in phased manner.
India has reduced under-5 mortality rate from 75 per 1000 live births in 2005 to 45 per 1000 in 2014.
