Big Catch-up Initiative:
A global effort called “The Big Catch-up” was announced by various health organizations
- Implementing Partners are WHO, UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Immunization Agenda 2030, and other health partners
- Objective is to Boost childhood vaccination rates and reverse declines caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
- 20 countries including India, where three-quarters of the children who missed vaccinations in 2021 live
- It will Strengthen healthcare workforces, improve health service delivery, build demand for vaccines, and address obstacles to restoring immunization
- Current coverage In India, full immunization coverage among 12–23-month-old children increased from an estimated 62% in 2015–2016 to 76% in 2019–2020.
- Immunisation Agenda 2030 (launched in 2021) has set a target of avoiding 50 million vaccine-preventable infections in this decade.
- It intends to reduce the number of zero-dose children by 50%. And achieve 90% coverage for essential vaccines given in childhood and adolescence.