Polio focus hits routine immunisation

While much is being made of the pulse polio immunisation drive, the National Family Health Survey for 2005-06 has come up with a worrisome finding...

While much is being made of the pulse polio immunisation drive, the National Family Health Survey NFHS for 2005-06 has come up with a worrisome finding: the percentage of children receiving routine immunisation has dipped in 11 of the 29 states covered.

A similar survey had been conducted in 1998-99, and compared to figures from that, 11 states 8212; including those with a good public health record, such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu 8212; show a drop in the percentage of children aged 12-23 months receiving immunisation against measles and tuberculosis See table.

8220;There really is no explanation, and it is a matter of concern that routine immunisation has suffered in most states. This has made most experts wonder whether the intensive drive against polio is one of the reasons that has led to the neglect of routine immunisation,8221; says Sulabha Parshuraman, one of the coordinators of the survey, and a professor at the Indian Institute of Population Studies IIPS, Mumbai, which conducted the survey for the Union Ministry of Health 038; Family Planning.

The 2005-06 survey was the third undertaken since the first one in 1992-93. It provides national and state-wise information on fertility, infant and child mortality, the practice of family planning, maternal and child health, reproductive health, nutrition, anaemia, utilisation and quality of health and family planning services.

More women know of HIV-AIDS

The NHFP survey has found that HIV/AIDS awareness among women in aged 15-49 years has gone up. In Maharasthra the figure has gone up from 61 per cent in 1998-99 to 79 per cent; in Andhra Pradesh from 55 to 74 per cent; in Nagaland from 72 to 81 per cent; in Tamil Nadu from 87 to 94 per cent; in Karnataka from 58 to 66 per cent; and Manipur from 93 to 99 per cent. However, Sulabha Parshuraman, who took part in the survey, said much more needed to be done in these states.