New Delhi: President Ram NathKovind on Saturday launched the Pulse Polio Programme for 2021 by administering polio drops to children less than five years old at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
The President and First Lady Savita Kovind administered polio drops to children on the eve of Polio National Immunisation Day, which is observed on January 31 (Sunday), also popularly known as Polio Ravivar.
‘Around 17 crore children of less than five years of age will be given polio drops as part of the drive of
Government of India to sustain polio-free status of the country,’ the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement here.
‘The countrywide drive will be supported by about 24 lakh volunteers, 1.5 lakh supervisors and many Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), WHO, UNICEF and Rotary,’ it said.
‘Healthcare workers will be visiting as many as two crore households to ensure that no child is left without the protection of polio vaccine,’ the statement added.
Union Health & Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey were present on the occasion.