Jagat Prakash Nadda
The role vaccines play in preventing diseases has been proven since 1796, when the first inoculation against the dreaded smallpox disease took place. In the last 50 years alone, vaccines have saved over 15 crore lives globally, equivalent to 6 lives every minute of every year.
Protecting lives is the key mission of India’s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP). Every year, over 2.6 crore new-borns are administered vaccines under UIP against 12 preventable diseases like measles, diphtheria, polio, etc. which can be life-threatening or can severely affect a child’s health and well-being.
Although the programme began in 1985, it has expanded rapidly in the last 10 years. Intensive campaigns like “Mission Indradhanush” have increased vaccine coverage substantially to more than 90 percent. We still have challenges, in achieving 100% vaccine coverage, which range from vaccine hesitancy in certain regions and communities, to dropouts due to migration and several factors contributing to some children remaining partially vaccinated or unvaccinated.
Under the visionary leadership of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, Government of India has made health and nutrition of women and children a top priority and is firmly committed to the mission of leaving no child and pregnant woman unvaccinated. To achieve this, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has come up with a technical solution to maximize vaccine coverage in the form of U-WIN (Universal Immunization Programme-WIN). U-WIN is a digital platform that electronically registers and monitors the vaccination status of all pregnant women and children across India.
U-WIN, essentially, is a name-based registry that facilitates “anywhere access, anytime vaccination.” Designed with a people-centric approach, the platform offers multiple features to simplify the vaccination process. Pregnant women can self-register through the U-WIN App or portal, or simply walk into the nearest vaccination centre to register.
Once registered, healthcare workers can track important vaccinations for pregnant women, record delivery outcomes, register the new-born and initiate their vaccination schedule. This schedule can be tracked by programme managers until the child turns 16.
U-WIN offers significant benefits to parents and guardians, enabling them to access vaccination services anywhere in the country and protect their children with just a click of a button. The platform also provides an appointment booking feature, which is particularly useful for migrant workers.
U-WIN is available in 11 languages, enhancing the platform’s accessibility. Another key feature is the digitization of records. Each time a verified beneficiary receives a vaccine, a real-time digital vaccination record is created. Beneficiaries also receive a digital acknowledgment and a QR-based certificate, which can be downloaded and stored on mobile devices for on-the-go verification-especially useful for school admissions and travel.
Additionally, the platform sends SMS notifications and reminders for upcoming vaccination doses, ensuring that parents and healthcare workers adhere to the prescribed minimum interval between doses.
U-WIN serves as an integrator, bringing together parents/guardians, doctors, healthcare workers, and the broader healthcare system on a single platform. This allows the effective monitoring of immunization progress across the country, including the extent of coverage. It also enables beneficiaries to create Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA) and Child ABHA IDs that help share health records with medical professionals and other service providers, with the individual’s consent. This improves patient outcomes by allowing medical professionals to access a person’s medical history at a glance.
U-WIN also aids ANMs and ASHA workers in generating vaccination due lists and supports mobilization efforts to ensure beneficiaries are vaccinated on time.
Over the past 10 years, India has relied on indigenously developed health systems to revolutionize healthcare. The electronic vaccine intelligence network (eVIN), introduced in 2014, has transformed how vaccines are received, stored, and distributed to the last mile. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the world witnessed the success of Co-WIN, the technology backbone of India’s COVID-19 vaccination program, which helped administer 220 crore COVID-19 vaccination doses in less than 18 months. Now U-WIN is set to change the landscape of immunization services in the country by significantly improving vaccination coverage.
As India strides toward its centennial as an independent nation, its commitment to robust vaccination programs is not just a health initiative-it is a foundational investment for the future. By prioritizing the immunization of its youngest citizens through advanced digital infrastructure and comprehensive public health strategies, India is not only combating preventable diseases but also fostering a healthierand economically resilient population.
These efforts reflect a firm resolve to build a future where no child is left without life-saving vaccines, whether they live in the snowy landscapes of Jammu & Kashmir, the deserts of Kutch, the borders of Arunachal Pradesh, or villages surrounded by the blue waters of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
(The author is Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare and Chemicals and Fertilisers).