Pulse Polio Programme 2021 kicks off in India; all you need to know about Polio Ravivar

Around 17 crore children of less than 5 years of age will be given polio drops as part of the drive of the Government of India to sustain polio free status of the country.
 

The National Polio Immunisation programme in India began on Sunday, 31 January 2021.

President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday launched the Pulse Polio Programme for 2021 by administering polio drops to children less than five years old at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, in the presence of Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, and Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare.

The President and First Lady Savita Kovind administered polio drops to children on the eve of the Polio National Immunization Day, which is observed on January 31, 2021 (Sunday), also popularly known as Polio Ravivar.

Around 17 crore children of less than 5 years of age will be given polio drops as part of the drive of the Government of India to sustain polio free status of the country. The countrywide drive will be supported by about 24 lakh volunteers, 1.5 lakh supervisors and many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), WHO, UNICEF, Rotary etc, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement.

Healthcare workers will be visiting as many as 2 crore households to ensure that no child is left without the protection of the polio vaccine, the statement said.