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Guwahati: The Assam and Meghalaya governments signed a pact last month to resolve the 50-year-old inter-state border dispute. But in 35 fringe villages along the disputed border under the Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya, health department officials from Assam and Meghalaya have scripted a major success story by vaccinating over cent per cent children jointly, including in the pockets.
The Jirang State Dispensary on its own caters to a population of around 9,909 people residing in 35 villages under its jurisdiction. Many of these villages, close to Assam capital Guwahati, witnessed resistance from the local populace whenever development projects were expedited from either government in the past. During the land deal signed in March-end, both the governments resolved to work out a solution by dividing the disputed villages in Boklapara and Khanapara-Pilingkata areas. During the immunisation drive that started in April 2021, health officials managed to spread the goodwill message by vaccinating children in the disputed zone.
The dispensary grabbed the vaccination drive as an opportunity and started providing routine immunisation for children simultaneously when the health teams visited the villages for immunizing adults.
“Due to the intensified focus on vaccination, the teams have been able to visit the villages more regularly than before. This has contributed to the increase in vaccine uptake among the people since last year,” said Dr Himanshu Das, medical officer of the dispensary.
Unicef’s Assam State Field Office in a statement said out of the 35 villages, 19 were under the disputed jurisdiction and between the borders of Meghalaya and Assam. Due to this reason, a Unicef spokesperson said, these 19 villages under the Jirang State Dispensary have been able to avail the health services under the Assam government and led to the decrease in workload for the staff of the Jirang State Dispensary.
“The dispensary boasts Full-Immunisation Coverage of around 114%, which is a feat in itself, as the majority of the villages under its jurisdiction are not accessible by foot,” said the spokesperson of Unicef.
The Jirang State Dispensary on its own caters to a population of around 9,909 people residing in 35 villages under its jurisdiction. Many of these villages, close to Assam capital Guwahati, witnessed resistance from the local populace whenever development projects were expedited from either government in the past. During the land deal signed in March-end, both the governments resolved to work out a solution by dividing the disputed villages in Boklapara and Khanapara-Pilingkata areas. During the immunisation drive that started in April 2021, health officials managed to spread the goodwill message by vaccinating children in the disputed zone.
The dispensary grabbed the vaccination drive as an opportunity and started providing routine immunisation for children simultaneously when the health teams visited the villages for immunizing adults.
“Due to the intensified focus on vaccination, the teams have been able to visit the villages more regularly than before. This has contributed to the increase in vaccine uptake among the people since last year,” said Dr Himanshu Das, medical officer of the dispensary.
Unicef’s Assam State Field Office in a statement said out of the 35 villages, 19 were under the disputed jurisdiction and between the borders of Meghalaya and Assam. Due to this reason, a Unicef spokesperson said, these 19 villages under the Jirang State Dispensary have been able to avail the health services under the Assam government and led to the decrease in workload for the staff of the Jirang State Dispensary.
“The dispensary boasts Full-Immunisation Coverage of around 114%, which is a feat in itself, as the majority of the villages under its jurisdiction are not accessible by foot,” said the spokesperson of Unicef.
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