This unique project of UNICEF-centres around ROUTINE IMMUNIZATION. it aims at creating awareness among people about vaccinations, immunizations, and child health. The ultimate goal is to eradicate the diseases which not only make a child suffer but also takes away the precious childhood. Providing a safe and healthy childhood, which is the right of every child, is the eventual objective of this initiative.
One medium which is pivotal is RADIO. Benefitting from the fact of being an impersonal medium, an RJ mentioning about the need for routine immunization is impactful. The media is powerful enough to address a serious issue, in an entertaining fashion. Where very subtly the RJ gives across the message, which stresses on the “PROMISE OF LIFE” (vada zindagi ka).
Having conducted several successful workshops with the RJ’s across the country and many lined up for the future. Media4child aims to instil this sense of responsibility in each RJ, that because he/she is reaching to a huge audience, they are getting a chance to make a difference.
The blog makes possible a common platform for the fraternity of RJ’s from across the country, from many radio which also facilitates interpersonal communication amongst RJ’s. The community of all the RJ’s then makes possible to get into a more long lasting future project, where in we can entertain any requests for a workshop in another city, which will help in increasing the awareness across the length and breadth of the country. RJ’s also having an option of uploading their audio podcasts or videos. The entire idea is to make the blog more interactive and impactful, to serve the greater purpose of child welfare and community healthcare.
Key messages for RI
-To have lifelong protection against deadly diseases, new-borns should begin receiving immunization immediately after birth.-All children should be taken for routine immunization four times before their first birthday in addition to birth dose and according to the given schedule.
-Parents should carry the routine immunization cards with them at all times during visits to doctors, and especially during travel.
-Vaccines are available FREE OF COST at the nearest sub centre/anganwadi centre and at all government health facilities.
-A child who is suffering from minor ailments such as fever, cough, cold, diarrhoea on the day of immunization can still be immunized.
-It is common to observe some adverse effects following immunization such as fever or pain. These will subside in due time and should not be a cause of concern.
“Capacity building workshop on Routine Immunization (RI) for Radio professionals”-6th -7th June 2014, New Delhi
Every year about 1.4 million children die around the world from largely preventable diseases like pneumonia, diarrhoea, malnutrition and new born complication like sepsis. India is among the top four countries that account for half of the global under-five child mortality.
A battle is on to save the children, but like most wars, its scale and costs are huge. An highly cost- effective way of preventing these fatal diseases is immunization. It is one of the world’s most successful public health initiatives. In 2011, an estimated 83% of infants worldwide were vaccinated with the three doses of the vaccine (DTP3 vaccine) required to immunize them against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis—three diseases that are potentially fatal for children under 5. Each year, immunization averts an estimated 2-3 million deaths from these diseases. It has also been instrumental in eradicating smallpox and nearly eliminating polio.
Recent studies show that scaling up the use of existing vaccines in 72 of the world’s poorest countries could save 6.4 million lives and avert $6.2 billion in treatment costs and $145 billion in productivity losses between 2011 and 2020.
A special article published by India’s Ministry of Health in the Indian Journal of Paediatrics reasserted that the national introduction of a Hib-vaccine could prevent up to 72,000 child deaths every year.
India has one of the largest immunization programmes in the world, in terms of number of beneficiaries, geographical coverage and quantities of vaccine used, with nearly 26 million new born babies targeted for immunization each year. Over 9 million immunization sessions are held every year across the country.
Some results have been achieved. The child death rate (below five years) in the case of vaccine preventable diseases has dropped by 45 percent since 1990. The rate of infant mortality has gone down from 80 per 1,000 births in 1990 to 50 in 2009, while the target for 2015 was 27. The under-5 infant mortality has gone down from 109 in 1992-93 to 75 in 2005-06, with a target of 42 by 2015.
But there is still a long way to go. The number of children in India is projected to decline from 424 million in 2008 to 395 million in 2026.
The percentage of children who are fully vaccinated ranges from 13 percent in Nagaland to 91 per cent in Tamil Nadu. In 15 states, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Manipur and Uttarakhand, full immunization is below the national average 46 per cent and in only 10 states/ union territories i.e. in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Goa, Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Pondicherry and Tamil Nadu is full immunization above 70 per cent.o
To address the problem, Government of India and UNICEF have launched a programme on catalytic Health System Strengthening (HSS) for Routine Immunization (RI) to increase immunization coverage and reduce child mortality in India.
UNICEF has partnered with the Association of Radio Operators for India (AROI) to engage the media on critical child survival issues, by using radio as a tool for the RI process. The project seeks to find further means to influence public discourse by bringing unheard voices of marginalized populations to the fore. To start with, this project would be focusing on nine states – Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Odisha.
In order to contribute to this preparatory phase of the project, AROI seeks to build capacity of selected radio producers and journalists from Delhi and the low RI states, to raise awareness on Routine Immunisation in their programs at a constant frequency.
AROI is the official association of private commercial radio stations in India. AROI, while acting as a platform for inter-industry dialogues and common initiatives, interacts with Government on policy and procedure initiatives, with advertising industry for revenue enhancements and outstanding control, with listenership measurement agencies for evolving acceptable listenership survey models, with foreign media and investor bodies for mutually beneficial collaborations.
Considering the massive outreach and dedicated listenership of radio across the country, UNICEF believes that this partnership with radio can significantly mobilize community action and encourage people to participate in the immunization programme.
Despite technological advancement, the advent of the television and the Internet, the humble radio has made a roaring comeback. It is still one of the most potent mass medium available—accessible, affordable and flexible.It is often the only medium that can rapidly disseminate critical information about social issues or natural-disasterpreparedness to large, remote audiences.
During the recent flash floods in Uttarakhand, locals came to help thousands of pilgrims trapped en route to Kedarnath only after listening to All India Radio (AIR) news. AIR was a big help also during other previous natural calamities, like the super cyclone in Odisha in 1999 and the Tsunami of 2004, when other means of communications failed.
Close to 100 million Indian households own an estimated 150 million radios, outnumbering television sets by 3:1. The geographical area covered by radio in India is as high as 98 percent and the penetration level is approximately 97 percent. The privately-owned FM radio stations at present cover only 17 percent of the area and 21 per cent of the population of India through transmitters, but their popularity and reach is growing.
Radio is also often used by NGOs and educational institutions to disseminate messages. As of 2012, there were about 126 community radio stations across the country. The government has plans to set up 500 more such stations.
People can listen to radio anytime and anywhere they want. It is also a free medium. Over 90% of India has access to radio, which is unmatched by any other media. Radio also reaches the uneducated village folk who do not or cannot read print publications. At places where the literacy rates are low, where people hardly read newspapers and cannot afford a TV set, radio is the only medium that can be relied on for information dissemination.
Hence, if we use radio as a tool for promoting Immunization, it can help us in the following ways:
Radio can act as an empowerment tool. Its reach is unparalleled—it can reach remote places and vulnerable communities- yet untouched by any other form of media. It can be used to disseminate messages through news, talk shows, advertisements, quiz shows and other programmes.
Radio can act as a channel for interactive communication, dialogue and debate on immunization issues. It can be used as a means for training and transfer of knowledge for other radio listening groups and print media. It can be used as a channel for expressing information, ideas and opinions on a common platform.
Radio can be very helpful in planning and execution of strategies as it acts a tool for social enquiry, for gathering information on issues, and enhances the value of local knowledge.
As part of this initiative, UNICEF organized a capacity building workshop for radio professionals in May 2014 in association with the AROI. The programme helped facilitate an exchange of ideas on how radio can best be leveraged as part of outreach intervention to build awareness on routine immunization.
It aims to encourage radio producers and radio jockeys (RPs and RJs) to contribute to the RI initiative through interactive programmes. It helps develop and implement a practical and reliable feedback mechanism to monitor and evaluate RJ/RP content qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Objectives of the workshop.
The research material, presentations and proceedings from the workshop will be used to prepare a Summary Report of the Workshop. The report will highlight a set of recommendations, and will be disseminated to policy makers, civil society institutions, and media research institutions.
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