Shillong, July 20: A State Steering Committee Meeting chaired by Shri D. P. Wahlang IAS, Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya was held on 18th July 2023 at Main Secretariat along with Directors (MI, MCH&FW, R) and officials from Health and Family Welfare Department.
From, National Health Mission, Social Welfare Department, Education Department, Housing Department, Civil Defense Department, Urban Affairs Department, Sports and Youth Affairs Department, Labour Department, Mining and Geology Department and Development Partners – WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and JSI.
The Committee was presented with the overall immunization coverage and status of Meghalaya which currently stands at 89% Full Immunization Coverage. T
he main objective of the meeting was to find ways and interventions on how to reach the unreached through the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI) 5.0 which is a three – month long immunization catch-up campaign.
The campaign is scheduled to be conducted in three rounds i.e. from 7th to 12 August 2023, 11th – 16th September 2023 and 9th – 14th October 2023. Immunization Session sites will be set up in identified locations with low coverage for children from 0 – 5 years of age as well as pregnant women.
With this campaign it is envisaged that Measles-Rubella Elimination target will be achieved by ensuring MR vaccination coverage of > 95% by December 2023. Through the Intensified Mission Indradhanush 5.0, U-Win a digital platform to register and track beneficiaries will be rolled out across India and Meghalaya as well.
In addition, UNICEFin collaboration with their partners, organized a 3-day Behavioural Science Intervention Design Workshop which aimed to design effective interventions to improve Routine Immunization (RI) rates inMeghalaya, using insights from Behavioural Science (BI) and Human-Centered Design (HCD).
The workshop aimed to translate research findings into practical, evidence-based interventions to improve RI rates. The specific objectives of the workshop is, to gain a shared understanding of the problem, stakeholders, and specific behaviours they aim to nudge.
To generate and refine intervention ideas based on research findings and behavioural insights. To finalize interventions, develop an implementation plan with government partners at different levels.
The workshop participants comprised of State, district and Block level officials from health department, National Health Mission, and other partners. The workshop structured around three main stages, Understanding the Problem and Stakeholders, Ideation and Intervention Design and Finalizing Interventions and Planning for Implementation.
The outcome of the workshop will be presented to State Government Officials – Health and Family Welfare Department before they are implemented on a pilot phase in 2 districts – West Jaintia Hills District and Ri Bhoi District for the upcoming IMI 5.0 Campaign and will eventually be introduced into the Routine Immunization Programmes throughout the State.
