Health Ministry: New claims, no new programmes

New Delhi, July 23:  During Prime Minister rendra Modi’s first year in office, the health ministry has relaunched existing programmes and claimed credit for programmes not launched by the tiol Democratic Alliance (NDA) government. Factchecker took a look at the claims and realities:

 1. Mission Indradhanush, a new immunisation programme: Only the me is new

 Claim: A new programme med Mission Indradhanush will target areas of low immunisation.

 Reality: Mission Indradhanush is the new me for Special Immunisation Weeks (SIWs), which have been conducted every year in areas of low immunisation under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

 Special vaccition campaigns were planned for seven to 10 days in 201 high-focus districts during March-June 2015 under Mission Indradhanush. But this has routinely been done in preceding years. For example, in 2013-14, four rounds (April, June, July and August) of SIWs were conducted in 31 states and union territories. More than 9.8 million doses of various antigens were administered to children. Similarly, during 2012-13, SIWs were carried out in low-coverage areas and more than 17.3 million doses of various antigens were administered.

 2. Mission Indradhanush will be world’s largest immunisation drive: It already is

 Claim: Mission Indradhanush, “the largest-ever immunisation drive”, will immunise 8.9 million children.

 Reality: UIP is one of the largest programs in the world, according to immunisation summary report jointly published by United tions Children’s Fund and World Health Organisation.

 More than 20 million pregnt women and children were immunised during 2011-12, according to data released by the health ministry.

 3. India Newborn Action Plan (IP): One of many existing plans

 Claim: IP aims to end all preventable new-born deaths and still births by 2030.

 Reality: IP is the latest entrant to a long list of existing interventions under the tiol Health Mission (NHM) to reduce neo-tal and materl mortality.

 A few of these interventions and programmes are:

 * Round-the-clock materl care services at community health centres and primary health centres promotion of institutiol delivery through Jani Suraksha Yoja (JSY) and Jani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) new-born care corners at all health facilities

* Special new born care units (SNCUs) and new born stabilisation units

* Home-based new born care through Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs)

* Prevention and treatment of aemia with iron and folic acid tablets during pregncy and lactation prevention of aemia due to malaria, tackled by long-lasting insecticide nets and insecticide-treated bed nets

* me-based tracking of pregnt women to ensure ante-tal, intra-tal and post-tal care integrated magement of neo-tal and childhood illnesses

* Universal immunisation programme for about 135 million children against seven vaccine-preventable diseases through nine million immunisation sessions each year

* Capacity building of healthcare providers through training of nurses under NHM

Engagement of more than 0.89 million  ASHAs village health and nutrition days

* Reproductive materl new-born child-health+adolescent interventions in 184 high priority districts

 The two targets proposed in IP are (a) reducing preventable new-born deaths and (b) reducing preventable still-births to single digits, fewer than 10 per 1,000 live births by 2030 (as against 22 per 1,000 live births today).

 4. India’s first mental-health policy launched: Work began in 2011

 Claim: Launched the country’s first-ever mental health policy.

 Reality: The work of framing a tiol mental-health policy began in April 2011, following a resolution on mental disorders adopted at the World health Assembly. The government constituted a policy group to frame a mental-health policy, launched in October 2014. (IANS)