The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : 82 p.c. children administered polio drops in State

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Monday, Jan 07, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

82 p.c. children administered polio drops in State

Staff Reporter

5,80,430 children covered on the first day in BBMP limits

— Photo: V. Sreenivasa Murthy

Relentless drive: A scene at the Jayanagar General Hospital in Bangalore on Sunday.

Bangalore: As many as 59,64,367 children were administered polio vaccine as part of the Pulse Polio drive carried out in the State on the National Immunisation Day on Sunday.

Of the targeted 72,63,978 children under five years of age in the State, 82.42 per cent were administered polio drops on the first day of the campaign.

Belgaum district had the highest percentage (95.25 per cent) of children immunised in the State, followed by Mandya (92 per cent).

In the next three days, vaccinators will go on house-to-house rounds to administer the vaccine to children who were not brought to the booths on Sunday.

As many as 31,849 booths were set up all over the State, and 1,00,660 vaccinators and 6,349 supervisors are involved in the four-day campaign.

Governor C.P. Rameshwar Thakur administered polio drops to children at the Jayanagar General Hospital here.

BBMP coverage

In the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike limits, 82.21 per cent of the targeted 7,02,000 children aged less than five were covered in the vaccination drive. In all, 5,80,430 children were administered polio drops on the first day.

Nearly 9,000 volunteers were engaged to administer the vaccine to children in 2,024 booths, including those at railway stations, bus stands and the airport, and 170 mobile units went around the city as part of the campaign.

After a two-year-old male child of migrant labourers was diagnosed with polio in Bangalore in November 2007, 914 high risk areas, including temporary settlements, construction sites, brick kiln huts, migrant population from these areas and beggars groups, have been identified in and around the city for the drive.

In the mop-up Pulse Polio round following the case, that was conducted from December 9 to December 12, over 4.7 lakh eligible children were immunised at 1,357 booths, and 9,76,870 households were covered in the house-to-house rounds.

For Dalit women

The Governor on Sunday launched “Prasoothi Araike”, a scheme to boost the health of pregnant Dalit women living Below Poverty Line in Karnataka. He also flagged off an immunisation drive to fight Hepatitis-B.

Usha Ganesh, Principal Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare, said that the Araike scheme had been launched as a pilot project in seven backward districts of Karnataka, to help Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women get adequate nutritious food and medical care.

Women who are eligible for the scheme in the districts receive a sum of Rs. 2,000 in two instalments during the pregnancy, and two saris after the birth of the child. Women can avail of this scheme only for two pregnancies. Districts to be covered under the scheme are Bidar, Gulbarga, Bijapur, Bagalkot, Raichur, Koppal and Chamrajanagar. Speaking after launching the scheme, Mr. Thakur hoped that it would soon be extended to other parts of the State.

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