Nagaland needs to scale up immunisation coverage – Thurr

KOHIMA— Pointing out that immunisation coverage in Nagaland is low at just 58%, Mission Director (MD) of National Health Mission (NHM), Dr. Ritu Thurr, on Friday challenged the officials to push it to 75% this year.

Delivering the keynote address at the two-day State Training of Trainers for scale-up of U-WIN (Unorganised Workers’ Identification Number) at Hotel Vivor in Kohima, he also urged the participants to maintain accurate data, keep a check of the rising non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and generate data at the district level as well as post it in the state portals.

Leveraging the learnings and achievements of e-VIN (Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network) and COWIN in ensuring seamless management of UIP/COVID vaccines, and digital platform enabling real-time tracking and management of beneficiaries and vaccination, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) plans to build a third pillar based on the existing platforms for digitising the routine immunisation services in the country through U-WIN, he said.

U-WIN platform will act as a digital solution to facilitate tracking of every pregnant woman, new-born, child and adolescent for vaccination, he said, adding that it will allow planning of vaccination sessions, registration of beneficiaries, update of vaccination status digitally on real-time basis, recording and reporting of all data for the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).

U-WIN is designed as per Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM) for linking Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR), Healthcare Facility Registry (HFR) and Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA).

For pregnant women and children, vaccine acknowledgement and immunisation card linked to ABHA ID will be generated and all states and districts will have access to a common secure database to track and vaccinate beneficiaries, informed the official.

Thurr said Nagaland has already successfully implemented U-WIN in the pilot districts of Dimapur and Peren, through which the entire vaccination system including records is digitised, easing the tracking of beneficiaries.

Informing that all vaccination records under UIP are currently being maintained manually, he said that U-WIN will do away with the hassle of keeping physical records. It will also allow the citizens to check nearby ongoing routine immunisation sessions and book appointments, while beneficiaries will get digital certificates stored in secure digi-lockers on the spot and will also be able to download them anytime they need.

More than 2.63 lakh pregnant women, 6.5 lakh infant (0-1) and 2.58 lakh children (1-5 Years) have been successfully registered on the U-WIN platform during the pilot phase of 65 districts across India as on June 13, he updated.

He further said that U-WIN will enhance vaccination by facilitating appropriate intervals between doses, digital verification and tracking of beneficiaries, promoting consistency in vaccination schedules and communication with beneficiaries.

He also exuded confidence that the state immunisation coverage will improve in the coming days through the use of technology.

Speeches were also delivered by Dr. Khelito Zhimomi SPO, RCH; Dr. Imkongtemsu Longchar, State Immunisation and Dr. Nyan Kikon, Nodal Officer IDSP and NUHM.