Key Note Address at the Regional Orientation Workshop for Field Officers of Directorate of Field Publicity, Nagaland & Manipur Region, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India on Flagship programmes – Integrated Campaign on “Mission Indradhanush, Mission Parivar Vikas, Tubercolosis and Leprosy” of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India Organised at Manipur Press Club, Imphal on December 15th 2017.
By: Shri Mangjangam Touthang,IIS, Regional Director, DFP (N&M)
“Let no child suffer from any vaccine-preventable disease”. This was stated by the Honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi during the launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) at Vadnagar in Gujarat on the 8th October 2017. Through this programme, Government of India aims to reach each and every child under two years of age and all those pregnant women who have been left uncovered under the routine immunisation programme. The special drive will focus on improving immunization coverage in select districts and cities to ensure full immunization to more than 90% by December 2018. The achievement of full immunisation under Mission Indradhanush to at least 90% coverage was to be achieved by 2020 earlier. With the launch of IMI, achievement of the target has now been advanced.
With a sharpened focus on high priority districts and urban areas, under IMI, four consecutive immunization rounds will be conducted for 7 days in 173 districts — 121 districts and 17 cities in 16 states and 52 districts in 8 north eastern states — every month between October 2017 and January 2018. Intensified Mission Indradhanush will cover low performing areas in the selected districts and urban areas.
The Government has also launched a new family planning initiative in july this year christened as ‘Mission Parivas Vikas.’ Mission Parivar Vikas will focus on 146 high fertility districts in 7 states with high TFR( Total Fertility Rate). Under this, specific targeted initiatives shall be taken for population stabilisation through better services delivery.
Analysis of geographical distribution of leprosy by World Health Organization (WHO) shows that India accounted for the largest number of cases of leprosy at 60% of the global new cases reported during 2015 by 136 countries.
With a view to eliminating leprosy from the country, a three-pronged strategy has been adopted for early detection of leprosy cases in the community during 2016-17.
1. Leprosy Case Detection Campaign for high endemic districts. 2.Focused Leprosy Campaign for hot spots. 3. Specific plan for Case Detection in Hard to reach areas. All detected cases of leprosy are provided standard treatment in accordance with programme guidelines.
Ensuring affordable and quality healthcare to the population is a priority for the government and it is also committed to end TB by 2025.
The success of the government’s developmental programs and schemes largely depends on people’s participation. For this, it is imperative that the people have sufficient awareness about these programs. The challenge we all face today is to take relevant information to the door steps of the people. It is here that the prominent role of Directorate of Field Publicity (DFP)comes in to fill in the gaps in their information needs. The DFP have been entrusted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare , Government of India to carry out media campaign on the various schemes implemented by the ministry . DFP, basically engaged in interpersonal communication with the common man at the grassroot level. It seeks to disseminate information, generate awareness and to bring about attitudinal change towards government’s plans and programs and also collects feedback from the people about various initiatives and policies of the government. DFP, thus acts as a bridge between the people and the government in a true sense.
The main objective of today’s workshop is to educate and equip the field officers of DFP on the all flagship programmes initiated by the Health Ministry and to enable field functionaries to fine-tune for effective publicity campaign. It also aim to have a meaningful interactions between the subject expert and field functionaries so that effective communication strategies could be devised to create better awareness about the specified schemes among the population, especially the targeted people and all stakeholders. Spreading the right message by the field functionaries would enable the beneficiaries to understand the key issues and avail all the benefits rolled out by the government.
DFP, N&M Region is extremely grateful and highly indebted to the the Ministry of Health and family welfare for taking up such an innovative publicity campaign. I am confident that as we join our hands together, we may be able to make a difference in the lives of our people. Lastly and not the least,I am thankful to all who are present here this afternoon by giving us your valuable time in making this program a success.
With these words let me conclude. Thank you.
This Press Release was sent by Mangjangam Touthang, who can be contacted at mangjangamtouthang(at)gmail(dot)com.
