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Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge criticised the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government at the Centre for “not vaccinating lakhs of children” in 2023. He said that the “Modi government has committed a big sin” as “neglecting vaccination means loss of precious lives.”
Kharge said this while citing the WHO/UNICEF National Immunization Coverage Estimates (WUENIC) for 2023. According to the UNICEF report, India has the second highest number of children who have not received any vaccine.
The UNICEF report showed that 10 countries around the world account for 59 per cent of “zero-dose children” — those “not consistently vaccinated and will not receive any vaccine in 2023”. Operationally, their number is estimated by the number of children who missed out on DTP1, the report said.
India was second in the list of “zero dose children” after Nigeria. Nigeria had 2.1 million “zero dose children”, while India had 1.6 million. India was followed by Ethiopia, DR Congo, Sudan, Indonesia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Angola and Pakistan (Pakistan ranked 10th).
Congress, AAP criticized the government over UNICEF report
Kharej took to the social media platform X to target the government over the UNICEF report.
He said, “The strong foundation for immunization in India laid by the Congress Party has been shamelessly ruined by the Modi government as 16 lakh children will not be provided with key vaccines for diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) and measles in 2023, thereby undoing the gains made in 2022.”
He further alleged that nearly half of the applications for assistance to children orphaned during the Covid pandemic were rejected by the PM CARES Fund “without giving any reasons”.
The Modi government has committed a grave sin by not vaccinating millions of children. Neglecting vaccination means the loss of precious lives.
India’s strong foundation in vaccination was laid by the Congress party, which has been shamelessly ruined by the Modi government, as 16 lakh… pic.twitter.com/qewOqRjzDa
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) July 17, 2024
Kharge wrote on X, “Not only this, but the utter apathy & utter disdain towards Covid orphaned children highlighted by media reports shows that almost 50 per cent of the applications for assistance to such children were rejected by the #PMCARES Fund without assigning any reasons!”
The Congress president asked, “Narendra Modiji, how will we ensure a ‘developed India’ if our children are not taken care of? In reality, PM CARES is just for show!”
Aam Aadmi Party also attacked the government over the UNICEF report and said, “Modi government has failed on all fronts.”
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