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Dr. N.K Dhamija, Assistant Commissioner, Immunization, MOHFW
along with Deputy Representative UNICEF India, David Mc
Loughlin and Prof. S.N Singh, Director, School of Journalism and
New Media Studies (SOJNMS), IGNOU at the launch of the
UNICEF-IGNOU partnership project on Routine Immunization.
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In July 2011, the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) engaged in a collaboration to initiate and nurture dialogue between national, state, and district level media on the issue of routine immunisation (RI) in India. The project was started with Madhya Pradesh as the pilot state, which has 42% immunisation coverage as compared to an overall immunisation rate of 60% in the country. The purpose of this initiative is to increase the quality and quantity of media discourse on the subject of RI.
IGNOU is providing its video-conferencing facilities to educate media professionals during strategic, interactive workshops on RI.
In July 2011, national media from Delhi connected with 80 participants from the state and district level through IGNOU's Bhopal and Jabalpur centres. This was followed by face-to-face interaction with health workers (Anganwadi and Accredited Social Health Activists, or ASHAs). Media participants were also taken to the vaccine storage units and were told about the stringent process of maintaining vaccine at optimal temperature. Methods such as body mapping were used to reinforce the messaging on the 6 vaccines that fall into the category of RI. To give additional exposure to the Bhopal participants, a field trip to Kerala and Tamil Nadu was organised from December 6-7, 2011 for the launch of Pentavelant Vaccine in the twin states. Two additional media workshops are planned, with the goal of building a core network of media reporting on RI. These will culminate in a national level congregation later in 2012.
During the event that launched this initiative, Shravan Garg, Group Editor, Dainik Bhaskar, urged the journalists present to focus on child deaths caused by the lack of vaccination. He suggested that completed immunisation cards should be made compulsory for admission in schools, for every child. Satish K. Singh, Editor, ZEE News Network, highlighted the role of doctors in rural development and the need for adequate infrastructure, especially in hard-to-reach areas. Q.W. Naqvi, Director, News & Current Affairs, TV Today Network, said that there was a need for a national helpline on immunisation. All the senior media professionals present agreed that media can and should play a constructive role in dispelling myths and creating awareness about RI. At the end of the launch event in Delhi, UNICEF's booklet on "Adolescence: An Age of Opportunity" was released by David McLoughlin, Deputy Representative, UNICEF India. Angela Walker, Chief of Advocacy & Partnerships, UNICEF India, explained how the booklet tells the stories of empowered rural and urban adolescents making a big difference in their own communities.
To add to the ongoing effort to provide platform for the media participants to continue to write on the subject, a Media4Child blog was launched in November 2011. The blog publishes articles written by participants since the project's launch and provides data and latest reports on RI, which can be used by the participants both as a resource base as well as to read work done by peers.
IGNOU has also provided its Internal Mobile SMS System. This SMS [short messaging service] system is now been used to send periodic factual information related to RI to the media participants. According to organisers, many such text messages have catalysed new discussion and articles on RI as reflected in the blog.
