Polio. A word that caused a stir. A word that brought to mind immense fear. A word because of which people have lost loved ones. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay During the 20th century, the polio virus swept across the world. The virus paralyzed hundreds of thousands of children every year. The virus spreads from person to person through contact with the feces of an infected human being or with droplets emitted by a cough or sneeze of an infected person. It was a big deal. Thankfully, though, the issue was addressed with everything the world could give it. In India, the government has undertaken the nationwide Pulse Polio Initiative to eradicate polio, better known as polio. The program was introduced in 1998, following global investment in eliminating polio. India's initiative essentially followed a program targeting children under 5 and administering polio drugs to those in high-risk areas. They conducted this campaign every year in national and subnational immunization periods. India has now been declared a polio-free country by the World Health Organization as there have been no cases of wild polio since 2011. However, this feat was not achieved overnight. No, it took India more than 10 years to reach this point. And Pulse Polio was his path. The Pulse Polio initiative has a clear goal. 100% polio eradication. Indian researchers have been trying to figure out how exactly to proceed with this process. Unlike developed countries, in underdeveloped countries parents are not as motivated to take their children for routine checkups and vaccines. It was then that a virologist from Vellore suggested the use of Pulse vaccination. Pulsed immunization essentially eradicates an epidemic by repeatedly inoculating an at-risk group until the virus or pathogen is stopped. According to Pulse Polio, “the goal was to immunize children through improved social mobilization, plan mop-up operations in areas where the poliovirus has almost disappeared, and maintain high morale among the public.” In a country like India, with an extremely large population, administering the vaccine has been a huge task and commitment. Pulse Polio distributed the polio vaccine in the form of oral drops called OPV (oral polio vaccine). All children by age 5 were provided this twice a year. Children younger than 1 year were given IPV (inactivated polio vaccine). The government has started declaring 2 days a year as National Immunization Days (NID). In addition to this, subnational immunization days were organized in areas where the risk of contracting poliovirus was significantly higher. Since the campaign began, 17.4 million children have been OPV beneficiaries. India aspired to reach out to all sections of society, especially those in remote areas. They didn't want any children to be overlooked during the process and potentially risk becoming infected. To successfully conduct the campaign, they needed to take preventative measures and contain the virus wherever an outbreak occurred. So they stepped up surveillance everywhere. Counters and stands were set up throughout the country. It was ensured that the vaccines were always available in cold storage close enough to be brought to the stands as and when required. Employers.