Why in news?

U-Win, a digital platform set to launch on August 15, aims to transform maternal and child healthcare across India. By digitizing vaccination records, it will replace the current manual system used by ASHA and other healthcare workers, streamlining record-keeping and marking a significant shift in primary healthcare delivery.

What’s in today’s article?

• Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)
• U-Win
• Status of childhood immunization in India

Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)

• About
  • UIP is one of the largest public health programmes targeting close of 2.67 crore newborns and 2.9 crore pregnant women annually.
  • It is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions and largely responsible for reduction of vaccine preventable under-5 mortality rate.
  • A child is said to be fully immunized if child receives all due vaccine as per national immunization schedule within 1st year age of child.
• Vaccines covered
  • Under UIP, immunization is providing free of cost against 12 vaccine preventable diseases:
    • Nationally against 9 diseases - Diphtheria, Pertussis, Tetanus, Polio, Measles, Rubella, severe form of Childhood Tuberculosis, Hepatitis B and Meningitis & Pneumonia caused by Hemophilus Influenza type B.
    • Sub-nationally against 3 diseases - Rotavirus diarrhoea, Pneumococcal Pneumonia and Japanese Encephalitis.
• Two major milestones of UIP
  • The two major milestones of UIP have been the elimination of polio in 2014 and maternal and neonatal tetanus elimination in 2015.

U-Win

• About
  • The U-WIN portal is a replication of the Covid-19 vaccine management system Co-WIN.
  • It aims to maintain an electronic registry of routine immunizations.
    • Currently, U-WIN is in pilot mode across all states and Union Territories, except for West Bengal.
  • It captures every vaccination event for pregnant women and children under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP).
  • It will ensure timely administration of vaccine doses by digitally recording every vaccination event under the Universal Immunisation Programme among all pregnant women and children aged 0-5 years.
• How Does U-Win Work?
  • 
  • Children between 0-5 years will be registered on U-Win. Vaccines given at birth are also recorded.
  • A list of children, who are scheduled to receive their vaccine doses, is generated through U-Win.
  • The e-record helps children get vaccinated in different places without carrying a booklet. The portal sends SMS alerts to parents.
  • The portal also records birth weight and details of physical deformities, if any. This can be used for other government programmes.
• Features
  • The platform generates a uniform QR-based, digitally verifiable e-vaccination certificate, similar to Covid vaccination certificate.
    • This can be accessed anytime by the citizens through a single click.
  • It will update vaccination status, and delivery outcome, among others, in real time.
  • Citizens can self-register for vaccinations via the U-WIN web portal or its Android mobile application, select preferred vaccination centres, and schedule appointments.
  • Automated SMS alerts inform citizens about registration confirmations, administered doses, and upcoming dose reminders, ensuring timely and age-appropriate vaccinations.
  • It also facilitates the creation of Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) IDs for comprehensive health record maintenance.
  • It also supports the frontline workers to digitally record all vaccination events for children and pregnant women for complete, accurate and easy record maintenance.
• Benefits
  • This real-time registration of children and the digital vaccination record on U-Win will help in reducing the number of “zero-dose” children (those who do not receive their first doses of vaccines for diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus).
  • This will be beneficial for migrant workers, who can get their children vaccinated at any centre in the country and without the hassle of carrying their child’s vaccination cards.
  • The U-Win portal is one of the important steps towards halving the number of zero-dose children by 2030.
  • Besides details of children and pregnant women who are due for vaccinations, the U-Win portal will have a record of health centres and community health workers.

Status of childhood immunization in India

• As per the recently released WHO and UNICEF estimates of national immunisation coverage (WUENIC), there was a slight dip in childhood immunisation in 2023 compared to 2022.
• There was a two-percentage point dip (from 95% in 2022 to 93% in 2023) in the coverage of the diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus (DPT) vaccine. The 2023 global average was 89%.
  • Coverage of the DPT vaccine is used as a proxy for the number of zero-dose children — those who have not received any routine immunisation.
• WUENIC shows that there were 1.6 million zero-dose children in India in 2023, up from 1.1 million in 2022, but much less than 2.73 million seen in 2021.
• The data also show that the coverage of the third dose of the DPT vaccine — used as a proxy for under-vaccination — stood at 91% in 2023, a two-percentage point dip from the previous year, but much higher than the 2023 global average of 84%.
  • In absolute terms, 04 million children remained under-vaccinated in 2023, slightly lower than the 2.11 million children in 2019.