Introduction
On a global stage, India has appeared to be one of the biggest producer & exporter of vaccines all around the world. Its contribution towards reducing the under 5 mortality rate worldwide due to Vaccine Preventable diseases (VPD’s) is no insignificant. Such a contribution on a world stage only propels us to believe the success of health sector at home with closed eyes. Yet, the real picture appears to be different. At home, VPD’s result in over 5 lakh deaths annually and one third of the world’s unimmunized children belong to India. Such worldwide contribution & domestic figures do not sit hand in hand with each other. They demand an enquiry into reasons for such contradictions. These reasons are what we look into through the course of this blog, and what remedies can be adopted to fix the situation.
Highs and Lows
It is not our case that India has produced dismal performances in the field of Routine Immunization throughout. The battle against completely eradicating Polio in the last couple of years speaks volumes of India’s performance and capability to fight the problem. Also, the performance during the decade 1985-95, when India launched its Universal Immunization Program (UIP), was phenomenal as the coverage reached the mark of 70-85%. Yet geographical diversity, lack of awareness, high population growth rate, lack of effective monitoring system, inability of health sector to keep up with delivery services & many more have traditionally been responsible for achieving satisfactory results. Since then, surveys conducted by agencies like National Family Health Survey, UNICEF have shown that the coverage under UIP has reduced by 15-40% in the following decades. These numbers vary across different states. Thus, Independent India has seen its share of success at different times, while battling with its traditional problems throughout making the task of achieving 100% Immunization coverage seem elusive.
A Brief Description of Problems
Lackluster performances on part of the Government & some uncontrollable factors have together proved to be a big rock in the path to prosperity.
On one hand, factors like high population growth, lack of awareness, & geographical diversity are factors that cannot be neglected. According to the latest census, conducted in 2011, 29 children are born in India in every 60 seconds. Population has been a big problem for India in various sectors, and it sure is a bigger one in securing complete Immunization. Also accompanied by it is the problem of geographical diversity & awareness. Reaching out to everyone defying the tough terrains of nature is not as easy a task as it might sound. Combine it with lack of awareness, especially in isolated villages; the problem becomes even more complicated. A coverage evaluation survey by UNICEF found that 26.3% people surveyed had no idea about the need of Immunization. There is a viewpoint existing that focusing only on polio eradication has further worsened the situation. While the campaign neglected UIP, the door to door nature of the campaign has made people entirely dependent on health workers.
On the other hand, Government’s inability, or lack of interest has proved to be another hindrance in fulfilling the task. Even if for once, the Polio campaign proved that if government is willing to back something, factors like population, geographical problems & awareness can be tackled with time. But no accountability, corruption, inappropriate allotment of funds has shown us where the government stands. It ultimately aims to work for the rich private sector by presenting privatization of health sector as the only solution to all problems.
What can be done?
Notwithstanding Government’s allegiance to the private sector, there are a whole lot of things that can be done to ensure better delivery & results. For the starters, the government & bureaucracy have to show that they are willing to work for the cause with full determination by allocating appropriate funds, establishing channels to ensure accountability, and developing an effective monitoring system. One area where we currently lack is Research & development. So, new R&D centers need to be established for working out cost effective methods. On the ground level, NGO’s & other groups have to be organized for generating awareness across different regions. A blueprint of the entire campaign for UIP can be designed on the lines of Polio eradication program; only if the Government is willing to do so.
Conclusion
Independent India has come a long way in fighting the Vaccine Preventable Diseases in its history of 60 odd years. However, it is still lacking in results as effective as the developed world & work needs to be done for that. Such results have mainly been due to lack of commitment on part of the system. To promote the private sector, it is imperative that public sector is shown in poor light. Thus, it is for us to determine which path is it that we want to travel on, as that will make all the difference.
- SRIRADHA GUPTA
MAEM (Sem I)
On a global stage, India has appeared to be one of the biggest producer & exporter of vaccines all around the world. Its contribution towards reducing the under 5 mortality rate worldwide due to Vaccine Preventable diseases (VPD’s) is no insignificant. Such a contribution on a world stage only propels us to believe the success of health sector at home with closed eyes. Yet, the real picture appears to be different. At home, VPD’s result in over 5 lakh deaths annually and one third of the world’s unimmunized children belong to India. Such worldwide contribution & domestic figures do not sit hand in hand with each other. They demand an enquiry into reasons for such contradictions. These reasons are what we look into through the course of this blog, and what remedies can be adopted to fix the situation.
Highs and Lows
It is not our case that India has produced dismal performances in the field of Routine Immunization throughout. The battle against completely eradicating Polio in the last couple of years speaks volumes of India’s performance and capability to fight the problem. Also, the performance during the decade 1985-95, when India launched its Universal Immunization Program (UIP), was phenomenal as the coverage reached the mark of 70-85%. Yet geographical diversity, lack of awareness, high population growth rate, lack of effective monitoring system, inability of health sector to keep up with delivery services & many more have traditionally been responsible for achieving satisfactory results. Since then, surveys conducted by agencies like National Family Health Survey, UNICEF have shown that the coverage under UIP has reduced by 15-40% in the following decades. These numbers vary across different states. Thus, Independent India has seen its share of success at different times, while battling with its traditional problems throughout making the task of achieving 100% Immunization coverage seem elusive.
A Brief Description of Problems
Lackluster performances on part of the Government & some uncontrollable factors have together proved to be a big rock in the path to prosperity.
On one hand, factors like high population growth, lack of awareness, & geographical diversity are factors that cannot be neglected. According to the latest census, conducted in 2011, 29 children are born in India in every 60 seconds. Population has been a big problem for India in various sectors, and it sure is a bigger one in securing complete Immunization. Also accompanied by it is the problem of geographical diversity & awareness. Reaching out to everyone defying the tough terrains of nature is not as easy a task as it might sound. Combine it with lack of awareness, especially in isolated villages; the problem becomes even more complicated. A coverage evaluation survey by UNICEF found that 26.3% people surveyed had no idea about the need of Immunization. There is a viewpoint existing that focusing only on polio eradication has further worsened the situation. While the campaign neglected UIP, the door to door nature of the campaign has made people entirely dependent on health workers.
On the other hand, Government’s inability, or lack of interest has proved to be another hindrance in fulfilling the task. Even if for once, the Polio campaign proved that if government is willing to back something, factors like population, geographical problems & awareness can be tackled with time. But no accountability, corruption, inappropriate allotment of funds has shown us where the government stands. It ultimately aims to work for the rich private sector by presenting privatization of health sector as the only solution to all problems.
What can be done?
Notwithstanding Government’s allegiance to the private sector, there are a whole lot of things that can be done to ensure better delivery & results. For the starters, the government & bureaucracy have to show that they are willing to work for the cause with full determination by allocating appropriate funds, establishing channels to ensure accountability, and developing an effective monitoring system. One area where we currently lack is Research & development. So, new R&D centers need to be established for working out cost effective methods. On the ground level, NGO’s & other groups have to be organized for generating awareness across different regions. A blueprint of the entire campaign for UIP can be designed on the lines of Polio eradication program; only if the Government is willing to do so.
Conclusion
Independent India has come a long way in fighting the Vaccine Preventable Diseases in its history of 60 odd years. However, it is still lacking in results as effective as the developed world & work needs to be done for that. Such results have mainly been due to lack of commitment on part of the system. To promote the private sector, it is imperative that public sector is shown in poor light. Thus, it is for us to determine which path is it that we want to travel on, as that will make all the difference.
- SRIRADHA GUPTA
MAEM (Sem I)
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