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Journalism of Courage
Perhaps this story would have got national attention had the victims been above 18 and eligible to vote. But Asif is just under two, his three other siblings are all below five years of age. And all four are down with measles, Asif’s weight has halved.
Will he live? Mother Mubina, in Chandola village near Alwar in Rajasthan, is praying. ‘‘Every time I went to the local health centre asking for the measles vaccine,’’ she told The Sunday Express today, ‘‘all they told me was: Doosre din aana.’’
Mubina is one of the thousands of despairing mothers nationwide who were turned back empty-handed from the health centres when their babies, at around nine months, were due for the measles vaccine shot, supplied by the Centre.
But there was no vaccine in primary health centres anywhere in the country for as many as four months—between July to October last year. A shot in private clinics costs an average of Rs 100, too expensive for villagers.
The reason for the delay: red tape. But more of that later. When the buffer stocks ran out, the more vigilant among the state health systems started sending panic notes to the Centre. In August, Chhattisgarh Health Secretary Alok Shukla was one of the first to raise the alarm and write to the Union Health Secretary.
Although supplies have been restored now, the damage, public health experts say, has been done: death figures are coming in.
A UNICEF survey from Shivpuri in Madhya Pradesh has reported outbreaks in two blocks Karera and Manpura which have already claimed the lives of eight children. Over the last three months in Shivpuri alone, nearly 50 children in the age group of 0-6 have been struck by the disease. Three children died in Sujawani village in Pichore Block in Manpura, all between 0-2 years of age.
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How Centre fiddled
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• Only one supplier for the last two decades but Govt delays tender process. Story continues below this ad |
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Experts say because of the four-month gap, the danger is real—of the outbreak spreading from Chhattisgarh, MP to now Rajasthan. Measles is highly contagious, it spreads easily by as much as a sneeze if a child is not immunised when he/she is nine months old. Says Sanjiv Malik, secretary of Indian Medical Association: ‘‘In any immunisation programme, it is important for the continuity to be maintained. If you miss out once, you could be leaving out a large chunk of the population and maybe triggering an epidemic later.’’
So how did the shortage happen? While the Government is justifiably proud of its remarkable success in the Pulse Polio programme last year, it’s hard put to explain the measles fiasco. Says Union Health and Family Welfare Secretary P K Hota: ‘‘We are aware of some of these outbreaks. The shortage was there but now the supplies are normal.’’
But didn’t the shortage deprived several children of a timely dose of the vaccine and could this have played a role in the outbreaks? Said Hota: ‘‘It is difficult to link the deaths to the shortage.’’
Official sources attributed the delay to ‘‘the procurement process.’’ All the more shocking since the procurement process has been unchanged—ever since it started over two decades ago. And the same company has been the supplier all this while: Pune-based Indian Serum Company. Even the volume supplied has remained stable over the years: 350 lakh doses.
Yet, the Health Ministry goes through the whole process of issuing global tenders year after year—when the Pune company has been the sole bidder.
Even if this process has to be completed, the schedule is between February and April. So that stocks are replenished at the start of each year and there is no lag. But last year, the tenders were floated in April. Add three weeks more for the order placement. Plus at least eight weeks of manufacturing time. This year, some sense has dawned. The tender for last year has been extended to the next quarter. Some states have begun a ‘‘mop-up’’ programme to target those children who were missed last year. Mubina hopes Asif and her siblings can make it by then.
