The Chief Minister's Office of Chhattisgarh, on behalf of Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, on Sunday, 28 June 2026, issued a public appeal urging parents across the state to ensure every child under the age of five receives the polio vaccine as part of the National Pulse Polio Immunisation Campaign being held on the same day.

In the post, Chief Minister Sai wrote — 'Jai Johar!' [a traditional greeting of Chhattisgarh's tribal communities] — before stating: 'The healthy and safe future of our children is our greatest responsibility. A small step taken today for their smiles and a better tomorrow can become a lifetime of protection.' He specifically urged all residents of the state (pradeshwasiyon) to ensure that every child up to five years of age receives the two drops of polio vaccine — invoking the iconic campaign phrase 'Do Boond Zindagi Ki' [Two Drops of Life].

Context

The National Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme is a Government of India initiative conducted in coordination with state governments, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF. On designated national immunisation days, booths are set up at health centres, anganwadis, and public locations across the country to administer oral polio vaccine (OPV) to children aged zero to five years. The 28 June 2026 round is part of a continuing calendar of sub-national and national immunisation days maintained to keep India's polio-free status intact.

India was officially certified polio-free by the World Health Organization in March 2014, after three consecutive years without a reported wild poliovirus case. However, health authorities continue annual and sub-annual pulse polio rounds to prevent re-importation of the virus and to sustain high population immunity, particularly among children in remote and underserved areas.

Policy Backdrop

Chhattisgarh, with a significant proportion of its population living in tribal and forest-covered districts, has historically required focused outreach to achieve full immunisation coverage. The state's health machinery deploys mobile vaccination teams to reach children in inaccessible villages, transit points such as railway stations and bus stands, and migrant labour settlements on pulse polio days.

Chief Minister Sai's appeal carries particular weight as it opens with 'Jai Johar', a salutation rooted in the culture of Chhattisgarh's Adivasi communities — a deliberate choice that signals the message is directed at all segments of the state's population, including those in tribal belts where vaccine hesitancy and access gaps have historically posed challenges.

Stakeholders and Impact

The primary beneficiaries of the campaign are children aged zero to five years across Chhattisgarh's 33 districts. Frontline health workers — ASHAs, anganwadi workers, and auxiliary nurse midwives — form the operational backbone of the drive, conducting door-to-door rounds in addition to fixed booth sessions. Parents and guardians are the critical decision-makers whose participation determines coverage rates.

A high turnout on 28 June directly strengthens the state's immunity firewall against poliovirus, which remains endemic in neighbouring countries. Each child missed in a round represents a potential gap in herd immunity, making the Chief Minister's direct public appeal a standard but important mobilisation tool.

What's Next

Health teams across Chhattisgarh are expected to compile booth-wise and district-wise coverage data in the days following the drive. Children who are missed during the fixed-day campaign are typically followed up through house-to-house visits in subsequent days. The state health department is likely to report aggregate figures on the number of children vaccinated, which will feed into national immunisation dashboards maintained by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Sustained high coverage across successive rounds remains the cornerstone of India's strategy to maintain its polio-free certification and contribute to the global goal of complete polio eradication.