India has taken a significant leap toward eliminating two of the most contagious childhood illnesses, measles and rubella, by launching the National Measles-Rubella (MR) Elimination Campaign 2025-26. Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda inaugurated the campaign virtually, aligning it with the beginning of World Immunization Week (April 24–30), and called it a crucial step to ensure that every eligible child is fully immunized. "No child should be left behind," he insisted, emphasizing the need for universal coverage of vaccines to guard against diseases that can lead to permanent disability or even death.
This new initiative capitalizes on the success of India's Universal Immunization Program (UIP), which provides lifesaving vaccines to millions of pregnant women and children every year. In UIP, two doses of the MR vaccine are administered, one at 9 to 12 months and another at 16 to 24 months of age.
Recent Health Management Information System (HMIS) data place the coverage of the first dose at 93.7% and of the second dose at 92.2%. The country has already seen a dramatic 73% drop in measles cases and a 17% decline in rubella cases in 2024 compared to the previous year.
To raise public awareness and foster participation, the Health Ministry has released a range of multilingual information, education, and communication (IEC) materials, including posters, jingles, and a campaign film, which have been distributed to states and union territories for localized rollout. These resources are meant to fuel grassroots-level activity and make sure that the campaign message gets to even the farthest communities.
Minister Nadda called for taking a proactive and prompt measure, naming it "ACT NOW," similar to India's success in the past in wiping out diseases like polio and maternal and neonatal tetanus. He urged elected representatives, health authorities, and frontline workers to join hands and widen outreach to marginalized, migratory, and underprivileged groups.
Jan Bhagidari, or community participation, was also emphasized as a key to the success of the campaign, with the Minister urging MLAs, MPs, local leaders, and Panchayat heads to help vaccination drives through public functions and media briefings.
The Health Minister stated recent achievements: 332 districts reported no cases of measles and 487 districts no cases of rubella in the first half of 2025. This historic achievement was noticed globally when India received the Measles and Rubella Champion Award under the Measles and Rubella Partnership during a ceremony on March 6, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
He also emphasized the importance of ongoing surveillance under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program (IDSP) and improved inter-ministerial coordination. Urging states and UTs to be vigilant and responsive, Nadda said, "We need to reach the last mile. If we start working with full force today, we will ensure our success tomorrow."
Rubella and measles are virus-induced diseases with high transmission rates and the ability to create long-term health consequences. These involve such serious delays in development that they can even be fatal.
India's strategic emphasis on immunization is part of its larger health agenda to decline under-five mortality to 32 from 45 deaths per 1,000 live births during 2014-2020.
Further, India's immunization infrastructure is also being strengthened by the U-WIN online platform, initiated by the Prime Minister. This system enables real-time immunization tracking, scheduling of appointments, and digital certificate generation, making the whole process more transparent and accessible to beneficiaries.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Sai Sindhuja K/MSM)
