Pan India rollout of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine will reduce child mortality by 60 percent: Health Minister

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said the nationwide rollout of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) will reduce the child mortality rate by 60 per cent.

Launching the PCV, under the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP) as a part of Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, Mandaviya said pneumonia is a leading cause of death among children under 5 years, globally and in India.

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"In India, around 16 per cent of deaths in children occur due to pneumonia. The nationwide rollout of PCV will reduce child mortality by around 60 per cent," he stated.

He also released communication and awareness packages on PCV to create widespread mass awareness. These communication packages will be shared with all States/UTs for further adaptation and utilisation.

Highlighting the importance of healthy children in any country's growth, productivity and development, Mandaviya said: "Children are the future of our country and it is our responsibility to provide them a healthy life. Mission Indradhanush which was launched by the Honourable Prime Minister is one such endeavour in this regard."

He said that Prime Minister Modi's vision of 'Sabko vaccine, muft vaccine' has ensured that the eligible population gets access to COVID-19 vaccines across the country.

While releasing the communication package for the vaccine, Mandaviya exhorted that creating awareness regarding the vaccine is a vital component. The objective of the vaccine is to save the lives of our children and this would be possible if we run a successful awareness campaign across the country.

Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) is one of the largest public health programmes targeting close to 26.7 million newborns and 29 million pregnant women annually.

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