Description

In India, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increased caseload, hospitalization, and death surges, significantly affecting countless individuals, families, and communities and putting the public health system under tremendous strain.

In response, the Government of India launched the world’s largest COVID-19 vaccination program in January 2021. Initial results were impressive, but challenges to equitable coverage with the COVID-19 vaccine persist,including low coverage among vulnerable, marginalized, and hard-to-reach populations; supply of vaccine exceeding demand; procurement and distribution barriers; vaccine hesitancy; and inequitable human resource coverage.

To accelerate vaccination uptake among vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations, the MOMENTUM Routine Immunization Transformation and Equity project is providing technical assistance to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) to improve availability of vaccine doses and increase trust in and demand for COVID-19 vaccination.