Save Children Movement (SCM), the organization comprising members from Medical Council of India, Indian Medical Association, child specialists, vaccine experts and voluntary health organisations, has asked the Union government to consider manufacture of Polio and Measles Vaccines also by the three public sector vaccine manufacturing units when they resume production.
After a special meeting, the Movement has submitted a memorandum to the Union Health Minister raising this demand. The three Units were producing of BCG, DPT, DT and TT vaccines.
According to members of the SCM, these two vaccines also come under the category of essential vaccines of the Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP). "Every year about 2.6 crore children are born in India and the UIP is a defense against all sorts of communicable and other deadly diseases affecting the kid's health. What the government has now done is going against the policies and principles of the conventional system that we have been following for decades. The Union health ministry stopped the production of vaccines for the Immunisation Programme at the public sector units and asked the private companies to supply the same. This will pave way for corruption besides badly affecting the Programme in long run," said Dr Rex Sargunam, the veteran paediatrician, and president of the Save Children Movement.
Those who have attended the meeting said the government should take immediate steps to enable the three vaccine units to comply with WHO's norms. These three units were manufacturing and supplying essential vaccines to the Indian government for the UIP free of cost. Now how government can conduct the immunisation programme by paying huge charges to the private companies, they asked.
Perturbed by the Health ministry's lukewarm attitude, SCM, has asked the Union government to come out with a resolution with regards to the re-opening of the units before it expires. Production at these units was halted on January, 15 2008.