Shillong,Oct. 5: Changing of people’s mindset will be one of the main challenges that need to be overcome for achieving full immunization coverage of children and pregnant women by December 2018.

According to District Maternal & Child Health Officer of East Khasi Hills District Dr JB Rani, under the Intensified Mission Indradhanush to be launched from October 7, a total of 11,326 children and 1772 pregnant mothers are estimated to be covered in the entire district.

Stating that there are some challenges being faced by the mission, she said that there are lots of refusal pockets due religious/traditional beliefs and misconception about the importance of the immunization drive.

“There are villages where even headmen refused to allow conducting of immunization drive. Other reasons include false teaching on religious ground,” she said while referring to the earlier immunization drives conducted at Mawkynrew and Mawrynkneng blocks.

She said that deputy commissioner had also written letters to the concerned BDOs and headmen to extend full cooperation with the programme.

Dr Rani said therefore, there is a need to change people’s mindset as the district is gearing up for the intensified mission indradhanush.

“We need the people to realize that immunization can to a great extend reduce infant mortality rate (which is 36% in EKH) and it is the right of every child to be protected from preventable diseases like measles, polio and others,” she said.

Asked, she said that the launching of the intensified mission indradhanush was after the Centre’s direction to shift the targeted year for achieving full immunization coverage from 2022 to 2018.

“We have been asked to achieve 90 per cent coverage,” Dr Rani said while informing that in the case of East Khasi Hills there has been a sluggish climb in the immunization coverage which is at 69 per cent during 2016-17.

According to him, out of 20,145 children targeted, only 13,966 could be fully immunized.

Meanwhile, Dr Rani informed that the drive will be spread over 7 working days starting from 7th of every month. The drive which consists of four rounds of immunization will be conducted in 47 facilities across the district till January next year.