3rd phase of Mission Indradhanush begins

3rd phase of Mission Indradhanush begins

The third phase of Union Health Ministry’s universal vaccination programme Mission Indradhanush began on 7 April, 2016. It will cover 216 Districts across several States including Bihar, Gujarat, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

Under it, children will be vaccinated against seven preventable diseases. Under the last two phases nearly 39 lakh children have been fully immunised across the country.

Key facts about Mission Indradhanush:

• It depicts 7 colors of the rainbow which aims to cover all those children by 2020 who are either unvaccinated, or are partially vaccinated against 7 vaccine preventable diseases.
• The diseases include diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis B.
• Under this universal vaccination programme, all vaccines will be made available free of cost.