1986, UNICEF 40th Anniversary

TYPE:
ANNIVERSARY
DATE OF ISSUE:
11 DECEMBER 1986
ISSUED BY:
INdia post
NUMBER OF STAMPS PRINTED:
1.5 Million
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The stamp, issued on the 40th anniversary of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) illustrates one of the organisation’s most significant health cooperation programmes -universal child immunization. At the time, UNICEF estimated that approximately 1 million Indian children died every year from diseases that could be prevented through immunization.

In 1978, India launched the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) with the objective to reduce illness and death from five diseases by providing immunization to all eligible children and pregnant women by 1990. In 1985, EPI was accelerated by launching the Universal Immunization Programme, which currently provides immunization against ten vaccine preventable diseases nationally and two sub-nationally.

Today, India has one of the largest immunization programmes, targeting 25 million children annually. India’s full immunization coverage has increased from 44 percent in 2005 to 62 percent in 2015. India is certified Polio free since 2014 and eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus since 2016.

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Photo: UN Photo

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Photo: UNICEF

The immunization programme in India is a solid example of a Government owned and led intervention, where partners join forces to provide focused technical support in key areas.

UNICEF has been working closely with the Government of India since 1985 to provide catalytic support to the country’s immunization programme and remains fully committed to ensure that each child born in India gets the best start in life, thrives and develops to her or his full potential.

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Children in Hyderabad, 1981.
Photo: UN Photo

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Photo: UN Photo

UNICEF continues its work to protect the lives of children and promote their development, and its commitment to India is currently the largest of any single country.