Partnership Project on Routine Immunisation

Under the partnership with UNICEF, IGNOU is providing its videoconferencing facilities to engage with media professionals during strategic, interactive workshops on RI. In July 2011, national media from Delhi connected with 80 participants from the state and district level through IGNOU's Bhopal and Jabalpur centres. This was followed by face-to-face interaction with health workers (Anganwadi and Accredited Social Health Activists, or ASHAs). Media participants were also taken to the vaccine storage units and were informed about the stringent process of maintaining vaccine at optimal temperatures. Methods such as body mapping were used to reinforce the messaging on the 6 vaccines that fall into the category of RI. To give additional exposure to the Bhopal participants, a field trip to Kerala and Tamil Nadu was organised from December 6-7 2011 during the launch of pentavelant vaccine in the two South Indian states. Two additional media workshops are planned, with the goal of building a core network of media reporting on RI. These will culminate in a national-level congregation later in 2012.

During the event that launched this initiative, Shravan Garg, Group Editor of Dainik Bhaskar, urged the journalists present to focus on child deaths caused by the lack of vaccination. He suggested that completed immunisation cards should be made compulsory for every child for admission to schools. Satish K. Singh, Editor, ZEE News Network, highlighted the role of doctors in rural development and the need for adequate infrastructure, especially in hard-to-reach areas. Q.W. Naqvi, Director, News & Current Affairs, TV Today Network, said that there was a need for a national helpline on immunisation. All the senior media professionals present agreed that media can and should play a constructive role in dispelling myths and creating awareness about RI. At the end of the launch event in Delhi, UNICEF's booklet on "Adolescence: An Age of Opportunity" was released by David McLoughlin, Deputy Representative, UNICEF India. Angela Walker, Chief of Advocacy & Partnerships, UNICEF India, explained how the booklet tells the stories of empowered rural and urban adolescents making a big difference in their own communities.

To add to the ongoing effort to provide platform for the media participants to continue to write on the subject, a Media4Child blog was launched in November 2011. The blog publishes articles written by participants since the project's launch and provides data and latest reports on RI, which can be used by the participants both as a resource base as well as to a place to read work done by peers. IGNOU has also provided its Internal Mobile SMS System. This SMS [short messaging service] system is now being used to send periodic factual information related to RI to the media participants. According to organisers, many such text messages have catalyzed new discussion and articles on RI as reflected in the blog. For example, see Shefali's radio clip, which engages audience to learn about 6 vaccine-preventable diseases through the medium of radio.

Immunisation and Vaccines.

A survey published by UNICEF in 2009 ( The Coverage Evaluation Survey 2009) states that the single biggest reason behind India's low immunisation coverage is that mothers do not feel the need to immunise their children (28.2%), followed by a lack of knowledge about vaccines (26.3%).

The Government of India declared 2012 the "Year of Immunisation".