Hamirpur: Polio vaccines will be administered to more than 32,000 children in Himachal Pradesh’s Hamirpur district on March 3, with special focus on those living in slums and other sensitive areas. According to a statement issued on Sunday (February 18), Deputy Commissioner Amarjit Singh said Health department estimates suggest that 32,378 children up to five years of age will be administered the vaccine in 283 booths across the district.
Of these, about 2,800 children live in slums, labour colonies, construction sites and other sensitive areas. During a meeting on Saturday, Singh said special focus will be put on these areas.
Also Read: Polio Remains A Public Health Emergency Of International Concern: World Health Organization
Booths will also be set up at all entry points, main bus stands and other public places.
Teams will conduct door-to-door surveys from March 4 to 6 to ascertain the number of children left out and administer vaccines to them.
Singh also asked Health department officials about the deployment of staff, vehicles and other arrangements for the campaign.
In another decision, the Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs department will issue ration cards to migrant workers in Hamirpur, registered on the e-Shram portal of the Union Ministry of Labour and Employment.
The cards will be issued to those migrant workers who don’t have one yet so that they can get free ration under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, according to the district’s Food and Supplies Controller Arvind Sharma.
The decision has been taken after an order from the Supreme Court
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which in its Season 10 is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Ayushmann Khurrana. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In a world post COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental well-being, self-care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.
