Kasauli (Himachal Pradesh): Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Bharti Pravin Pawar, said on Tuesday that the 118-year-old Central Research Institute (CRI) at Kasauli in Himachal Pradesh has a long and cherished history in the field of health and education.
Speaking at the CRI’s 119th foundation day function here, the minister said the institute has set up several milestones and is continuously contributing to national health programmes.
Also, the institute is working as a teaching and training centre in the field of vaccine manufacturing for newly-emerging diseases, she said.
Pawar said that with the aim of making immunisation accessible for all children, Mission Indradhanush has been launched which focuses on securing children against seven preventable diseases, including tuberculosis (TB).
The Ministry of Health had launched the Intensified Mission Indradhanush programme in 2017, which aims to cover children and pregnant women who are left out of routine immunisation programmes. The programme also aims to improve vaccination coverage in high-risk areas and districts.
The minister said the use of digital technologies and innovative approaches in the journey to immunise such a large country has also helped in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the vaccination programmes.
“Today the role of technology in making healthcare accessible and affordable is continuously increasing, so our government is also focusing on the maximum use of drone technology. We are making efforts to provide timely health facilities to the countrymen through the Digital Health ID and the state governments are working shoulder to shoulder to achieve this goal,” the minister said.
Col (retd) Dhani Ram Shandilya, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Himachal Pradesh, said the discovery of vaccines by the CRI is a major achievement.
“The institute has done commendable work during the Covid pandemic and it is known on the world stage in the field of research,” he said.
(IANS)
