Stating that the government has included the hepatitis-B vaccine in the national universal immunisation programme, J P Nadda, Union minister of health and family welfare said four more vaccines will be added to the existing Indradhanush vaccine programme that already has a vaccine combination of seven diseases.

Hepatitis-B vaccination would be made part of the ambitious Indradhanush programme and in a couple of years 65 to 90 per cent coverage would be achieved, he added.

Speaking at the launching of media campaign on hepatitis-B in Mumbai, he said the Government is committed to extend the immunisation programme to the last child of the country. He assured government support for the goal of eradication of hepatitis-B.

While lauding the role of the film icon Amitabh Bachchan in giving a push to hepatitis-B awareness programme, he said that for health issues, support of the society is quite important and Amitabh Bachchan’s contribution had added power to the campaign.

The drive aims to create awareness about hepatitis-B and its vaccine through uninhibited confessions led by UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan.

In India, approximately 10 lakh children, on an annual basis, run the lifetime risk of developing chronic hepatitis infections, leading to life-threatening issues including liver cancer, liver failure and a possibility of premature death. Despite continuous efforts, only 65 per cent children in India had access to all vaccines during the first year of their life. Today, routine immunization (RI) in India targets 27 million infants and 30 million expecting mothers, saving 300,000 million lives each year.

Commenting on this association , Amitabh Bachchan said, “Hepatitis B is a very real issue in our country. It can be present in our blood streams for years and go undetected, only to strike with a vengeance when you least expect it. I have battled hepatitis B following a bad blood transfusion; it has highlighted to me how a small oversight during growing up years can prove to be detrimental to not only one’s own life but also others. Immunization against hepatitis B is a very personal issue for me, and I am very happy to associate with ministry of health and family welfare and UNICEF India to narrate my story to the Indian population to create awareness about this cause.”

According to Louis Georges Arsenault, UNICEF India Representative, “Preventing hepatitis-B through immunisation at birth and the first year of life is critical for the healthy life of a child. If we could achieve the extraordinary feat of defeating polio, we can surely join hands and also prevent this life threatening disease through timely routine immunisation.”

The ‘Confessions from AB’ film is the first-leg of a national awareness drive which aims to highlight the benefits of routine immunization led by ministry of health and family welfare. The joint efforts of ministry of health and family welfare and UNICEF India attempt to rid the nation of seven life-threatening diseases (diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus, polio, tuberculosis, measles and hepatitis-B).

Dr Deepak Sawant, Maharashtra Health Minister, Louis Georges Arsenault, UNICEF representative of India, Prof. Ram Shinde, Minister of State for Health (Maharashtra), C.K. Mishra, Additional Director, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Dr. Jayant Barve, Clinical and Interventional Gastroenterologist were also present on this occasion.