Vaccination Project

The covid vaccination drive conducted by health departments in Assam has been very challenging due to shortage of manpower within the health departments, scattered and remote habitations, lack of enough transport facilities and more depressing is hesitancy due to social taboos, misinformation and communication, religious believes and myths. In places where there are minorities settlements, tribal communities situated in the forest villages and border areas of Assam-Meghalaya there very little vaccination happened. Even though 80 to 90 percent of the 18+ population completed 1st dose vaccination yet there are a certain number of populations in districts and blocks who have not reached out or covered fully. More importantly, lapse for 2nd dose vaccination currently is 25 percent as mentioned by a few BPHC's under Kamrup District. The number of 1st vaccination completed are yet to receive the 2nd dose by almost 45 to 50 percent under 5 Blocks of Kamrup District (Chhaygaon BPHC, Hajo BPHC, Nagarbera BPHC, Rampur BPHC and Rangia BPHC) of Kamrup Rural District of Assam.

Therefore looking into the current context of vaccination progress it is to ascertain that much effort in terms of supporting the health departments, health workers with transport facilities, volunteering them wherever there is a gap and need, awareness creation, driving out people from home for vaccination etc.

Since Diya Foundation has post-experience working among these communities. At present Diya Foundation also implementing Livelihood and Maternal Health programs in these areas which has a huge potentiality to intervene in these areas.

During the Covid period, the organization has built a very good relationship with the block-level health department. Diya foundation also supported to mobilized people for vaccination and testing during that period. A Volunteer group has been developed by the team in the different villages who help the health department to mobilize people of their areas. Besides that, these volunteers are now facilitators of the concerned are not only for vaccination but awareness of good health practices in the community, coordination with local ASHA as well PHC and block-level and health worker.

Diya intends to work for 2nd dose vaccination in 5 Blocks of Kamrup District (Chhaygaon BPHC, Hajo BPHC, Nagarbera BPHC, Rampur BPHC and Rangia BPHC) out of 12 Block PHC where less than 50 percent achievements are made in the district. As data shared by the Kamrup District Information Officer, NHM, the five BPHC's have attained less than 50 to 55 percent 2nd dose vaccination in those five BPHC's and therefore target number of vaccination till date in five blocks is 635130 and Diya Foundation intends to take up the vaccination program for this target to cover within 3 months starting from 1st January 2022 to 31st March 2022.

Diya's plan is to reach out to 5 Block PHC's of Kamrup Rural District i.e. Chhaygaon BPHC, Hajo BPHC, Nagarbera BPHC, Rampur BPHC and Rangia BPHC having less coverage than 50-55 percent vaccination. These BPHC have high settlements of minority communities, remote forest villages, tribal communities situated in the Assam-Meghalaya Border where less vaccination happened. Total vaccination of 635130 is the target for 5 numbers of BPHC's under kamrup Rural District i.e. Chhaygaon BPHC having a target of 155831, Hajo BPHC having 1129148, Nagarbera BPHC having 147342, Rampur BPHC having 60396 and Rangia BPHC having 142414 within three months starting from 1st January 2022 to 31st March 2022. Of this total number of vaccination i.e. 635130 Diya Foundation will cover 50 percent of the total target vaccination which is 317565 vaccinations. Rest 50 percent i.e. 317565 will be covered by the department. A full-time team will be developed under each block which will comprise Community Health workers, Data entry operators and Community volunteers to manage the entire vaccination program. Community Health workers will monitor and provide support services to Community Volunteers during the process of vaccination and in any other need base support, they require. The data entry operator will be responsible for capturing the vaccination data from Community Health Workers and enter in the MIS Systems. The Community Volunteers will monitor villages to village and house to house along with ASHA and other health workers from the line department and facilitate vaccination. The Community Health Workers and the Data entry operator will be salaried persons and the Community Volunteers will be paid an amount per vaccination basis. A program coordinator will be appointed who will manage the entire vaccination program, his/her role will be to assist the entire program as well as report the donor agency from time to time, provide support services to community health workers and data entry operators and as required in any area/district level/at block level during the program period.

In order to assure 100 percent vaccination in the targeted BPHC's door-to-door visits in each village along with the support of ASHA and Health workers from the Department will be conducted. Joint efforts will also be made involving ward members of respective panchayats in every village of Blocks. Transport facilities or fuel will be provided to health workers of the departments too and PHC's so that travelling to the remotest part of the block will not be a barrier. Awareness campaigns, meetings and sensitization programs will be conducted in collaboration with administration, health workers from Departments and Panchayats so that not a single person is left behind unvaccinated in any targeted villages.

The impact we intend to create through this program is-

1. 100 percent vaccination in the Blocks where intervened
2. Strong network and coordination build with health team at Block and District level