WHO in India

Ms Selvi B., 65, undergoes a follow-up eye check-up at Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Multispeciality Hospital in MC Layout, Bengaluru, six weeks after a successful cataract surgery under the Government of Karnataka's Asha Kirana programme. Since its launch in 2022, ASHAs are visiting homes to screen vision in the community, and comprehensive eye checkups, spectacles and cataract surgeries are being provided by the state to those who need them. (Photo: Anshu Shekhar Roy / © WHO India)

Mr S. D. Ramchandrappa, 74, from Sabbenahalli village in Chikkaballapur district, beams with joy after receiving a new pair of spectacles free of cost under the Government of Karnataka’s Asha Kirana programme. Over 1.2 million free spectacles have been provided to those who need them under the programme, which offers integrated people-centered eye care services to all across the state. (Photo: Anshu Shekhar Roy / © WHO India)

In Khellong village under Nafra Community Health Centre, a WHO team worked with health workers, community mobilisers and local influencers to reach vaccine-hesitant families in their homes and encourage them to get their children vaccinated. As a result, eight children received life-saving vaccines, with two of them catching up on missed measles-rubella doses. (Photo: Nima Tsering Bapu / © WHO India)

September 2025 | West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh WHO teams monitored immunization outreach sessions in Ditchik village under Nafra Community Health Centre, on 8 September. Home visits and counselling of parents led to eight children being immunized in the village, categorized as a ‘high-risk area’ because of vaccine-hesitancy among some families. (Photo: Nima Tsering Bapu / © WHO India)

District health officials organized a routine immunization outreach session led by Mrs Yani Lida, auxiliary nurse midwife from Health and Wellness Centre Haji, in the hard-to-reach villages of Degu and Gete Degu in Upper Subansiri district with support from ASHAs and a WHO field team. Four children were immunized, including two with MR doses. (Photo: Ram Prasad Dorjee / © WHO India)

Makeshift colour-coded waste-collection bags being used at a temporary routine immunization site in Health and Wellness Centre Haji to ensure proper segregation and disposal of biomedical waste, such as used syringes and cotton, in the Upper Subansiri district. (Photo: Ram Prasad Dorjee / © WHO India)

WHO field monitoring teams identified Mopa Tea village under Community Health Centre Kanubari near the Assam-Arunachal as a high-risk area due to its high migration population. The WHO team identified two newly-settled families with children who had missed immunization doses. A pregnant woman in her third trimester who had not undergone any ante-natal check-up was also identified and counselled on the importance of ANC, regular check-ups, and institutional delivery. (Photo: Lemkai Arangham / © WHO India)

WHO-supported monitoring teams identified a “zero” dose child who had never been vaccinated, and two “dropout” children who had missed their first and second dose of measles-rubella vaccination, respectively, in Mopa Tea village under Community Health Centre (CHC) Kanubari near the Assam-Arunachal border. Information about the children was shared with CHC Kanubari for necessary follow-up. (Photo: Lemkai Arangham / © WHO India)

WHO field team supported a “catch-up’ training of frontline health workers at Bajengdoba Primary Health Centre in the North Garo Hills district, Meghalaya. Trainers discussed vaccine-preventable diseases, the importance of vaccination, the format of headcount surveys, and the need to ensure every child is fully immunized. (Photo: Abel Marak / © WHO India)

In a training session for frontline health workers at Bajengdoba Primary Health Centre in the North Garo Hills district, Meghalaya, WHO field team discussed strategies to further reduce “zero dose” children, who have not received a single childhood vaccine. (Photo: Noor Jamal Hoque / © WHO India)

WHO teams joined auxiliary nurse midwives and a multipurpose worker from Sood Subcentre to visit “refusal” households in Sood village, Naharlagun, to persuade families to fully immunize their children during a health risk assessment in Itanagar Capital Region, Arunachal Pradesh. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to the Government of India for strengthening immunization services. (Photo: Binku Moron / © WHO India)

WHO teams provided mentoring and guidance to government surveyors in the implementation of the Behavioural and Social Drivers initiative designed to deep-dive into the perceptions and concerns of the community around immunization to identify the hidden stories and voices that mattered. (Photo: Abel Marak / © WHO India)

Government monitors discussing the concerns and needs of mothers of babies and young children as part of immunization surveys being conducted under the Behavioural and Social Drivers initiative supported by WHO field team in the North Garo Hills district in Meghalaya (Photo: Abel Marak / © WHO India)

A routine immunization orientation and microplan review workshop was held at Gabil Primary Health Centre, Resubelpara block, North Garo Hills, to train the medical officer, supervisor, and newly-posted auxiliary nurse midwives with support from WHO field teams. The centre serves 6105 people across 21 villages, 16 of which are high-risk due to poor connectivity. The training aims to strengthen capacity and ensure every child in these hard-to-reach areas receives timely immunization. (Photo: Binku Moron / © WHO India)

A WHO rapid response team helped an ASHA (community health volunteer) and auxiliary nurse midwife from Nongkhroh sub-centre validate vaccination coverage in remote Maskut village, Thadlaskein block. Despite high overall coverage, they found four ‘zero-dose’ unvaccinated children from two families missed in the initial survey. After counselling, the families agreed to get the children vaccinated. (Photo: Bhavya Puskarana / © WHO India)

WHO has assisted the district health department in the setting up of bimonthly vaccination sessions in Rangthangjorpam village, home to 450 people from a farming community. The nearest Health and Wellness Centre in Angkaling is 5 km away. With roads in this hilly and forested area becoming unmotorable during the rainy season, access to essential health services is often difficult. (Photo: © WHO India)

During house-to-house monitoring in Lalung Tea Garden in Borkhet village, Bordumsa block, a team comprising district health staff and WHO rapid response personnel identified three “drop-out” children who hadn’t completed their scheduled vaccinations and one “zero-dose” unvaccinated child. A special vaccination session was held the next day to ensure they received their due vaccines. (Photo: © WHO India)

A village administrative officer (VAO) registering a death and the cause of death on the e-Mor software in the Panchayat Office in Manavadi village, Thanthoni block, Karur, Tamil Nadu. WHO provides supportive supervision to VAO officers on cause-of-death death reporting, including documentation for the medical certification of cause of death. (© UN in India and WHO India/Ruhani Kaur)

A trained health inspector uses the 2022 WHO verbal autopsy tool for electronic data collection on the Open Data Kit (ODK) platform on his tablet in Vangal, Karur, Tamil Nadu. WHO teams train and supervise health inspectors to ensure accurate and timely data submission in the physician-certified verbal autopsy (PCVA) portal. (© UN in India and WHO India/Ruhani Kaur)

A medical officer reviews the verbal autopsy data and case histories submitted by interviewers on the physician-certified verbal autopsy (PCVA) portal to assign probable causes of death at Karur Urban Primary Health Centre, Karur, Tamil Nadu. WHO trains medical officers on using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) coding tool and provides supportive supervision to resolve case-related queries. (© UN in India and WHO India/Ruhani Kaur)

A verbal autopsy interview in progress in Karur, Tamil Nadu, where a trained interviewer visits the family of the deceased to document the circumstances leading to the death. The interview includes an 'open narrative’, where the caregivers describe the medical history and circumstances of death in their own words. WHO supervises verbal autopsies to provide feedback to improve data quality. (© UN in India and WHO India/Ruhani Kaur)

A WHO-National Public Health Support Network team loading their mobikes on a rowboat to travel 1.5 km down the Mayurakshi river to visit the hard-to-reach Rampur Health Sub-Center in Sahibganj district. The team conducted house-to-house monitoring of immunization activities to bolster routine immunization coverage in the district on 23 April. (Photo: Dharun Prasad / © WHO India)

A WHO-National Public Health Support Network team conducted house-to-house monitoring of immunization activities for preventing potential outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases and bolstering routine immunization coverage in the hard-to-reach Rampur village in Sahibganj district. The team visited 140 households and monitored the vaccination status of 94 children on 23 April. (Photo: Dharun Prasad / © WHO India)

Mrs Preeti (left) with her daughter Aradhya, and Mrs Khusboo (right) with her son Siddhik and daughter Kavya wait to get their children immunized at Maternity Home Yamuna Vihar in the North East District of Delhi. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to the Government of India for strengthening immunization services. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

New mother Mrs Pooja holds her one-day-old son at the Maternity Home Yamuna Vihar, Delhi. The Maternity Home provides comprehensive health services and care, including nutrition and breastfeeding guidance, to ensure the baby has a healthy start in life. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

As an ASHA (accredited social health activist), Ms Kavita ensures Mrs Vidhi, who is pregnant with her first child, receives her due health check-ups and vaccinations for a safe pregnancy. She also provides nutrition guidance to the family to ensure the mother and baby have a healthy beginning and a hopeful future. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

WHO National Public Health Support Network field team in Meghalaya supported the district administration and the block health workforce in conducting a measles outbreak investigation in March 2024 in Mairang block in Eastern West Khasi Hills. (Photo: Pradeep Modak / © WHO India)

A WHO field team participating in community outreach activities to address vaccine-hesitancy and strengthen routine immunization system in a village under Patharkakmah Community Health Centre in Ri Bhoi district. (Photo: Pradeep Modak / © WHO India)

A WHO National Public Health Support Network field team assisting the district administration in supportive supervision of a routine immunization session site set up to reach unreached children and pregnant women in the hard-to-reach Jamoh village in East-Kameng district. (Photo: Sono Lingfa / © WHO India)

An auxiliary nurse midwife carrying vaccines on a suspended bridge over the Siang river to an outreach session site in the hard-to-reach Mopit village in Boleng block, Siang district in 2024. (Photo: Memtatak / © WHO India)

Ms Sunduki Tarang, Ms Jamina Rongchong and Mr Mohan Rongpeh donning spectacles they received free under a social community outreach programme. WHO is supporting the Government of Assam roll out SPECS 2030 (Strengthening Provision of Eye Care Services) in phases to provide access to quality, affordable and people-centred refractive error services, including provision of free spectacles. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Village head Ms Joram Mach and gram panchayat (village council) member Mr Joram Chilly with Ms Gida Sangeeta, senior nurse officer at Primary Health Centre Yachuli. Yachuli was declared a “TB Free Panchayat” in 2023, and is now working towards meeting the criteria for achieving National Quality Assurance Standards (NQAS) certification. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / @ WHO India)

Tuberculosis screening is a part of routine antenatal care at Bhakatiduar Ayushman Arogya Mandir (AAM), Community Health Officer Mr Deepjyoti Baruah told WHO Representative to India Dr Roderico H. Ofrin, during his field visit to Assam. WHO teams are supporting Bhakatiduar AAM in strengthening health systems for meeting the national quality assurance standards. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / @ WHO India)

WHO field teams assisted Bihar state health department in delivering bivalent oral polio (bOPV) vaccines to children of migrant labourers working at brink kilns during National Immunization Day on 24 November. Oral polio vaccines are given to all children under 5 years during one National Immunization Day and two SNIDs organized every year to ensure India remains polio-free. (Photo: Binod Kumar/ © WHO India)

WHO Representative to India Dr Roderico H. Ofrin with Mr Rokom Gamno, a traffic warden from Itanagar who has been diagnosed with extrapulmonary tuberculosis (TB). Mr Gamno completed two months of his six-months TB treatment in November, and is happy to be on the road to recovery. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Ms Jamina Rongchong getting her vision tested under the supervision of Dr Harsha Bhattacharjee, president, Sri Sankaradeva Nethralaya, Guwahati, and Aggregated Social Eye Care Activists (ASECA) Ms Kanchan Roy. WHO is supporting the Government of Assam roll out SPECS 2030 (Strengthening Provision of Eye Care Services) in phases to provide access to quality, affordable and people-centred refractive error services, including provision of free spectacles. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

WHO field teams assisted the Bihar state health department in delivering bivalent oral polio (bOPV) vaccines in difficult-to-reach areas during National Immunization Day on 24 November. WHO teams continue to provide immunization monitoring and surveillance support, with a focus on high-risk areas, to ensure India remains polio-free. (Photo: Binod Kumar/ © WHO India)

A WHO personnel mentoring frontline workers before a routine immunization session in Sitamarhi district, Bihar. WHO National Public Health Support Network provides technical and monitoring support to Government of India for strengthening immunization services. (Photo: Jitendra Kumar Singh / © WHO India)

A WHO surveillance medical officer briefing frontline workers for a routine immunization session in Sitamarhi district, Bihar. WHO National Public Health Support Network provides technical and monitoring support to Government of India for strengthening immunization services. (Photo: Jitendra Kumar Singh / © WHO India)

WHO India team is supporting the government in enhancing the delivery of primary health services in Muniguda block in Rayagada district, Odisha. WHO provides technical support, monitoring, and mentoring to enhance access to public health care services in hard-to-reach areas under India’s Aspirational Blocks Programme. (Photo: Santosh Kumar Sahoo / © WHO India)

A WHO team providing technical and monitoring support to frontline workers to enhance access to public health services in the Rayagada district, home to the Dongria Kondh tribe in Odisha under the Aspirational Blocks Programme. (Photo: Vishesh Kumar /© WHO India)

India’s National Cadet Corps participating in a training on supplementary immunization activities (SIAs) in Begusarai, Bihar. SIA training provided cadets with the necessary skills to support immunization-related activities in the community. (Photo: Sunil Kumar/© WHO India)

WHO has validated India for the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem in 2024. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare-led initiatives supported by key stakeholders, including Dr R P Centre-WHO Collaborating Centre at AIIMS New Delhi, led to this success, along with promotion of sanitation and hygiene under Swachh Bharat Mission and provision of safe water under Jal Jeevan Mission. (Photo: Vipul Sharma / © WHO)

WHO National Public Health Support Network field teams assisted “flood medical teams” formed by the district administration and local health departments in providing essential medicines and health services to communities affected by floods in Kosi and Ganga riverine areas. (Photo: Purushottam Choubey/ © WHO India)

Over 1.2 million people have been affected by floods in Bihar. WHO field teams are supporting the district administration in macro- and micro-planning for establishing health camps, setting up community kitchens, and providing necessary health services in flood-affected areas. (Photo: Purushottam Choubey/ © WHO India)

WHO National Public Health Support Network is conducting real-time field monitoring of emergency preparedness and response and reporting surveillance data on missed immunization sessions to district health. Floods have affected 1.2 million people in Bihar, with many families living in temporary shelters provided by the government. (Photo: Jitendra Kumar Singh/ © WHO India)

In the flood-affected areas of Bihar, 20 medical officers and over 200 field monitors from WHO are supporting the district administration in macro- and micro-planning for establishing health camps, setting up community kitchens, and providing necessary health services to the affected population. (Photo: Amit Kumar/ © WHO India)

Over 1.2 million people have been affected due to flooding; some of them living in temporary makeshift shelters provided by administration. WHO is working in close coordination with health department and administration at the state, district and community levels to provide continuous support. (Photo: Purushottam Choubey/ © WHO India)

WHO National Public Health Support Network is assisting the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme and acute flaccid paralysis polio surveillance network in near-real time reporting of communicable diseases associated with flooding to enable rapid response and containment, as needed. (Photo: Mukesh Kumar/ © WHO India)

Mr M Pushpangadan, Division Councilor of Kollam Municipal Corporation talks to Dr Roderico H. Ofrin, WHO Representative to India, about the local self-government’s support towards preventive, promotive, curative, and palliative care services provided at the Family Health Centre in Sakthikulangara village, Kerala. (Photo: Ratheesh Raveendran/ © WHO India)

Health and child welfare frontline workers from Polyclinic Madanpur Khadar giving polio drops to a child in the high-risk area of Shram Vihar in Gola Kuan, which has a high migrant population. Frontline workers went door-to-door in high-risk areas to give polio drops to missed children on Sub National Immunization Day (SNID) on 25 August. WHO teams supported immunization monitoring in high-risk areas. (Photo: Virendra Singh / © WHO India)

Frontline workers and WHO National Public Health Support Network officers reviewing micro-plans for Sub National Immunization Day (SNID) on 25 August at Booth Shiv Mandir in Gola Kuan under Delhi Government Dispensary Okhla Phase 1. On SNID, polio drops were given to 588 147 children at 6103 booths across Delhi. Oral polio vaccines are given to all children under 5 years during one National Immunization Day and two SNIDs organized every year to ensure India remains polio-free. (Photo: Nupur Garg / © WHO India)

WHO teams accompanied the district immunization officer of West Garo Hills on 17 August to support the local health workforce in managing and stool samples collection and shipment in Jengrip village as part of the public health response to rule out the spread of vaccine-derived polio virus. India remains polio free since it is not a wild poliovirus case. (Photo: Pradeep Modak / © WHO India)

State health officers met Jengrip village headman and members of village health council to create awareness about immunization and seek their support in strengthening the public health response to rule out the spread of vaccine-derived polio virus (VDPV) following a VDPV1 case being confirmed in the village on 12 August. India’s polio-free status remains intact as it is not a wild poliovirus case. (Photo: Pradeep Modak / © WHO India)

WHO teams assisted government health officials from Tikrikilla block in conducting a house-to-house survey and routine immunization assessment in Jengrip village as part of the public health response to rule out the spread of vaccine-derived polio virus (VDPV) in the community following a vaccine-derived polio virus type 1 (VDPV1) case being confirmed in the village. (Photo: Pradeep Modak / © WHO India)

WHO field teams support district and block health teams track stool samples from the community. This is part of the public health response to rule out the spread of vaccine-derived polio virus (VDPV) following India reporting a confirmed case of VDPV1 in Jengrip village on 12 August. Four doses of OPV and three doses of fractional inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) are given to all children before their first birthday under India’s Universal Immunization Programme to prevent polio from re-emerging. (Photo: Pradeep Modak / © WHO India)

WHO field teams support district and block health teams track stool samples from the community as part of the state government’s public health response to rule out the spread of vaccine-derived polio virus (VDPV) following the confirmation of a VDPV1 case in Jengrip village in West Garo Hills on 12 August. India’s polio-free status remains intact as it is not a wild poliovirus case. (Photo: Jayaseelan Vedamuthu / © WHO India)

A WHO officer conducting house-to-house monitoring in Kaundhiyara village in Prayagraj district to monitor the vaccination status of children under 5 years and report adverse events following immunization, if any. WHO field teams monitored 748 310 children vaccinated in 78 027 routine immunization sessions between January and May 2024 in Uttar Pradesh. (Photo: Ritesh Sharma / ©WHO India)

A WHO field officer conducting a house-to house-survey in the Tadiyawan block of Hardoi district during the Sanchari Rog Niyantran Abhiyan (communicable disease control campaign) in Uttar Pradesh. In April 2024, WHO teams covered 78 380 houses in 15 693 villages to assess the quality of the campaign in Uttar Pradesh. (Photo: Manoj Agnihotri / © WHO India)

WHO teams conducting acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) case verification to rule out polio in Myorpur village in Sonbhadra district. AFP surveillance, supplemented by environmental surveillance of sewage samples, is critical to ensure India remains polio free. (Photo: Mohd. Aleem Ansari / © WHO India)

A WHO officer is conducting acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) case clinical examination to rule out polio in the Chakia block of Chandaul district in Uttar Pradesh. WHO investigated 3791 AFP cases reported between January and May 2024 in Uttar Pradesh and found high compliance to investigation and stool collection protocols. WHO conducts environmental surveillance at 13 sites for sewage sampling in 9 districts of Uttar Pradesh (Photo: Ajit Kumar Rao / © WHO India)

WHO Representative to India Dr Roderico H. Ofrin discussing urban routine immunization microplanning with medical officers at Chikhali Urban Health and Wellness Centre under Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation in Pune. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to the Government of India for strengthening immunization services. (Photo: Sandeep Shirole / © WHO India)

WHO Representative to India Dr Roderico H. Ofrin visited Mr Vikram Dahije in his home in Ajantha Nagar, Pune, to discuss the quality to TB treatment and care services he has been receiving following TB diagnosis. Mr Dahije has completed four months of anti-TB treatment under the government programme. WHO provides technical support to the National TB Elimination Programme that provides free health care and social protection services to prevent, detect and treat tuberculosis to end TB in India. (Photo: Sandeep Shirole / © WHO India)

ASHA worker Ms Radha Ingle briefing WHO Representative to India Dr Roderico H. Ofrin about her work in Ajantha Nagar, Pune. WHO provides technical support to the National TB Elimination Programme that provides free health care and social protection services to prevent, detect and treat tuberculosis to end TB in India. (Photo: Sandeep Shirole / © WHO India)

Mothers catch up after getting their children immunized at a session outreach clinic in Kenmynsaw Community Hall in Mawsynram, which receives the highest annual rainfall in the world. On other days, the community hall serves as a space for prayer, weddings, council meetings and theatre for the Khasi people. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Dr Mariabiang K. Diengdoh (extreme right) with a WHO surveillance medical officer and his team from State Dispensary Umiam, update Ms Enejuncy Sun about the primary health services available at monthly session sites in Lumsohpetbneng village in Ri Bhoi district. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to the Government of India for strengthening immunization services, with a focus on remote areas. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Dr K. Mawlong shares Ida’s Nomgplahangi’s health update with his mother Ms Ishuwayaka Nomgplahangi. Iba was admitted with fever three days ago to the general ward in Ranikor Community Health Centre bordering Bangladesh and is now set to be discharged. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Women waiting to get their children immunized in an outreach session site in Kenmynsaw village in Mawsynram. Such outreach sessions are a lifeline for communities in the wet season from May to October, when torrential rains isolate villages in this hilly region. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to the Government of India for strengthening health services. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Dr R. Suchiang, medical officer, Mawsynram Community Health Centre, conducting a routine checkup of Ms Thianghun Langpen, 35, at an outreach health clinic in Kenmynsaw village in Mawsynram. Ms Langpen has six children. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

A WHO surveillance medical officer accompanies the health workforce from Mawsynram Community Health Centre to a health outreach clinic in Kenmynsaw village. Mawsynram is the wettest place in the world, and outreach clinics become a lifeline for communities in the wet season from May to October. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to the Government of India for strengthening immunization services. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Mawtepiew Village Health Council chaired by the village headman Mr Lukas Kharwar appointed local football hero Mr John Evanmajaw, 22, (extreme left) as a Tobacco Free Nodal Officer to convince young people to say no to areca nut and yes to health. Areca nut (kwai in Khasi language) is addictive and carcinogenic. it is widely cultivated in East Khasi hills and consumed in fresh, cured and dry forms by people across gender and age. Offering kwai to welcome visitors is a local tradition that Mr Evanmajaw is persuading the youth in his community to abandon. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Pregnant women wait after their health check-up at a session outreach site organized by Mawsynram Community Health Centre in their village’s Kenmynsaw Community Hall in Mawsynram, which receives the highest annual rainfall in the world. on other days, Kenmynsaw Community Hall serves as a space for prayer, weddings, council meetings and theatre for the Seng Khasi people. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to the Government of India for strengthening immunization services. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Ms Sbian Kurbah’s youngest son Batskhemlang (holding his immunization card) was born at home in Lumsohpetbneng village in Meghalaya like his three siblings. But unlike them, he received timey immunization because the health workforce from State Dispensary Umiam, Ri Bhoi, addressed the family’s vaccine hesitancy concerns. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to the Government of India for strengthening immunization services, with a focus on remote areas. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

An auxiliary nurse midwife measures the blood pressure of a pregnant woman at an outreach health clinic in Kenmynsaw village in the Mawsynram subdivision of the East Khasi Hills district. Under India’s 75/25 initiative, 75 million people will be provided free treatment for hypertension and diabetes by 2025. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Creative expression through music for the holistic development of children with communication disorders is part of the Special Use of Music for Educational Readiness and Upbuilding (SUMERU) initiative of the Department of Special Education, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing in Mysuru, Karnataka. (Photo: Anshu Shekhar Roy/ © WHO India)

Trained audiologists and ENT surgeons assessed the ear and hearing health of 1200 students in four schools in Mysuru under an All India Institute of Speech and Hearing initiative supported by WHO. (Photo: Anshu Shekhar Roy/ © WHO India)

A pre-schooler with hearing impairment undergoing speech and listening therapy. Over 1.5 billion people live with ear problems and hearing loss globally; another one billion are at risk of hearing loss from unsafe listening practices. (Photo: Anshu Shekhar Roy/ © WHO India)

Dr T Wangshu (extreme right) and auxiliary nurse midwives Ms Lipi Pegu and Ms Jimi Mech carry vaccines and essential medicines from Community Health Centre Kanubari, Longding district, to deliver health services to communities living in remote and hard-to-reach areas. WHO provides technical and monitoring support to Government of India in strengthening routine immunization and primary health services. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Mr Tage Mali (extreme left), forest officer, Miao circle, Namdapha National Park and Tiger Reserve, and Dr Jongsam Handsome (extreme right), medical officer in-charge, Miao sub-division, Changlang district, brief vaccinators before they begin their elephant ride across the Noa-Dihing river to Ayushman Bharat Health and Wellness Centre Deban. The elephant Lakhi sits patiently with her nephew Samraj, 13, who is getting ready to head off for forest patrolling. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

Mothers wait their turn to get their children immunized at Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centre Deban. WHO National Public Health Support Network (NPSN) provides technical and monitoring support for routine immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases to the Government of India, with special focus on strengthening services in hard-to-reach areas. Under the Government of India’s Universal Immunization Programme, close to 2.67 crore children and 2.9 crore pregnant women are immunized free of cost against 12 vaccine-preventable disease annually. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

An auxiliary nurse midwife from Community Health Centre Kanubari, Longding district, Arunachal Pradesh, vaccinates a baby in a makeshift immunization clinic for women and children in the hard-to-reach Chopnu village in Tirap district, Arunachal Pradesh. WHO National Public Health Support Network (NPSN) provides technical and monitoring support to strengthen routine immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases to the Government of India with special focus on strengthening services in hard-to-reach areas. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

The WHO National Public Health Support Network (NPSN) team from Namsai supports auxiliary nurse midwife Ms Sincha Tikhak (in white) review Ms Hamnon Mossang’s son Khimthoi’s (born 24 April 2021) immunization card in their home in the remote Lungpang village in Changlong district, Arunachal Pradesh, India. WHO NSPN provides technical and monitoring support for routine immunization and vaccine-preventable diseases to the Government of India with special focus on strengthening services in hard-to-reach areas. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

A WHO surveillance medical officer conducts house-to-house visits to survey the immunization status of all children in Amethi district’s high-risk Shekhpura village, which has a high number of ‘zero doser’ children and has recorded measles outbreaks. WHO-National Public Health Support Network is supporting the Uttar Pradesh government in identifying and vaccinating unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children in the district. (Photo: Hiralal / © WHO India)

A WHO field team conducting active case search (ACS) during a fever with rash outbreak in Bardiya village, Mihinpurwa block in Bahraich district. Quality ACS helps in identifying clustering of cases for timely intervention to stop outbreaks. The WHO-National Public Health Support Network assists the government in capacity building, monitoring activities, ensuring timely interventions, planning vaccinations, and maintaining optimal disease surveillance. (Photo: Poonam / © WHO India)

A WHO-National Public Health Support Network (NPSN) officer verifying a suspected diphtheria case in Shivrampur block in Chitrakoot district to identify new cases and validate the immunization status of children. WHO-NPSN teams support the government in vaccine-preventable disease surveillance to track suspected diphtheria cases, timely initiation of antibiotic prophylaxis for close contacts, and vaccination of unimmunized children in the community. (Photo: Than Singh / © WHO India)

A WHO surveillance medical officer visits a high-risk stone crusher site in Baragaon, Jhansi district, to monitor the polio vaccination status of children living with their parents around the site. The WHO-National Public Health Support Network assists the government in capacity building, monitoring activities, ensuring timely interventions, planning vaccinations, and maintaining optimal disease surveillance. (Photo: Raman Lal /© WHO India)

A WHO-National Public Health Support Network team monitoring routine immunization through house-to-house visits in the high-priority villages around Bankatwa Sub-Centre area bordering Nepal. (Photo: Haseen Khan / © WHO India)

A WHO-National Public Health Support Network (NPSN) team validating a headcount survey conducted by ASHAs in an urban slum in the high-risk district of Chikkaballapur to identify children who missed measles and rubella vaccination doses. WHO-NPSN teams support the government in advocating, capacity building, planning, and monitoring of immunization status of children for full immunization of children. (Photo: Gayithri D G / © WHO India)

Lakhi, mother of two healthy elephants, carries lifesaving vaccines across the Noa-Dihing river to protect human children in Deban village in the Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

A visitor to a haat bazaar (rural market) in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh gets screened for diabetes under India’s comprehensive primary health care services. The country aims to put 75 million people on standard care for diabetes and hypertension by 2025. Diabetes and hypertension are a leading risk factors for #noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, kidney failure, and stroke, among others. #WorldDiabetesDay. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

WHO National Public Health Support Network teams supported special sessions of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 5.0 (IMI 5.0) following a lab-confirmed measles outbreak in Laru village in the Bhoirymbong block of Ri Bhoi district in Meghalaya. WHO India is supporting the state in planning immunization activities in hard-to-reach areas around the Assam-Meghalaya border. (Photo: Pradeep Modak / © WHO India)

Following a lab-confirmed measles outbreak, women bring young children to get vaccinated at a special IMI 5.0 session conducted in the hard-to-reach Laru village in the Bhoirymbong block of Ri Bhoi district of Meghalaya. Laru is inaccessible on rainy days and can only be reached by walking for over an hour on hilly terrain. WHO National Public Health Support Network is assisting the district administration in ensuring all eligible children receive age-appropriate vaccines. (Photo: Pradeep Modak / © WHO India)

An auxiliary nurse midwife monitors the blood pressure of a patient at Primary Health Centre Phungyar in the Kamjong district of Manipur. India aims to put 75 million people on standard care for hypertension and diabetes under India Hypertension Control Initiative by 2025. Uncontrolled blood pressure is one of the main risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, which are responsible for one-third of all deaths in India. (Photo: Sanchita Sharma / © WHO India)

WHO National Public Health Support Network (NPSN) officers supported house-to-house monitoring of the vaccination status of children during Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI 5.0) in Bairwa Basti, Jhilai, Block Niwai in Tonk district of Rajasthan. (Photo: Khushal Goyar / © WHO India)

WHO National Public Health Support Network (NPSN) officers, government officials and partners conducting session site monitoring at Anganwadi Centre Balai Basti, Tonk Phatak, during Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI 5.0) in Rajasthan. (Photo: Khushal Goyar / © WHO India)

A WHO health systems officer assisting the health department of Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir in providing quality health services to the transhumance tribal communities in Peer Ki Gali, Rajouri district. WHO India is supporting the UT in health systems strengthening to reach the most vulnerable communities in hard-to-reach areas. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

A WHO health systems officer counsels a nomadic tribal family on the importance of deworming and routine immunization for child health at their temporary settlement in Rajouri district in the Jammu division of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. WHO India is supporting the UT in health systems strengthening to reach the most vulnerable communities in hard-to-reach areas. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

ASHA (community health volunteer) Ms Mamta Devi conducting house-to-house survey to record the vaccination status of children during Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI 5.0) in Urban Primary Health Centre Ward 46, Jaipur Urban. WHO National Public Health Support Network (NPSN) provided capacity-building support to health department’s frontline workforce to identify and vaccinate all unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children under the age of five years. (Photo: Seema Gurjar / © WHO India)

A WHO health systems officer and ASHAs discuss best practices and challenges in delivering health services to nomadic communities in hard-to-reach areas being served by PHC-HWC Bagtore in Gurez, Bandipora District in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

A WHO health systems officer observes health services, including health check-ups, being provided by the health department’s mobile medical aid team at a temporary settlement of the Bakarwal nomadic tribe in Peer Ki Gali, Rajouri district, in the Jammu division of the Union Territory (UT) of Jammu and Kashmir. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

A WHO surveillance medical officer monitoring the immunization status of a newborn in Jashwantnagar town in Etawah district. (Photo: B. S. Chandel / © WHO India)

A WHO-National Public Heath Support Network (NPSN) officer conducting house-to-house surveillance in the Ordali Bazar neighbourhood of Varanasi for the Sub National Immunization Day. WHO-NPSN teams support the government in capacity building, planning, and monitoring of polio vaccination. (Photo: Kashi Nath / © WHO India)

A WHO-National Public Heath Support Network (NPSN) surveillance medical officer giving polio drops to a child at Jamudi Bhatta brick-kiln in Satiyaon for the Sub National Immunization Day. WHO-National Public Heath Support Network (NPSN) teams support the government in capacity building, planning, and monitoring of polio vaccination. (Photo: Vijay / © WHO India)

Auxiliary nurse midwife Jeetendra Kaur (centre) and ASHAs Kiran Devi and Savita Rani carrying vaccines for the first round of Intensified Mission Indradhanush 5.0 (IMI 5.0) in the flooded Rahul Nagar Majdoori Basti village in Puranpur. On August 7, India launched the first of three rounds of IMI 5.0 to identify and vaccinate all unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children under the age of five years. (Photo: © WHO India)

A WHO surveillance medical officer monitoring the immunization status of children at a brick kiln in Jashwantnagar town. Workers at brick kilns migrate for work, which makes their children vulnerable to missing scheduled vaccination doses. (Photo: Manoj / © WHO India)

An ASHA (in blue sari) describes how she mobilizes people for blood sample collection between 20:30. and midnight to test for microfilariae, which transmit lymphatic filariasis (LF). At first, people refuse to cooperate for blood collection at night, but readily agree when she explains that blood surveys must be done at night to identify areas with high transmission (greater than 1%) for mass drug administration for LF elimination. Annual microfilaria survey was conducted in all blocks of Samastipur district, Bihar, in June 2023. (© WHO India)

A WHO surveillance medical officer examines a child who had developed Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP) during a follow-up visit in Teghra, Begusarai district. Since AFP is also a symptom of polio, all cases are screened 60 days after the onset of paralysis to rule out polio as part of continuing surveillance to ensure India remains polio free. (© WHO India)

A woman from Murshidabad district of West Bengal is simultaneously getting treated for leprosy, leishmaniasis, and tuberculosis (TB). WHO field teams routinely accompany the district medical team to monitor her treatment against all three diseases. The team also ensures her family is protected with TB Preventive Treatment and she receives regular nutritional support under National TB Elimination Programme. (© WHO India)

WHO teams conducted house-to-house visits in Kopaganj block in Mau district to ensure that no child missed polio vaccination during Sub-National Immunization Day on 28 May. WHO is providing technical and field support to national and state governments to maintain India's polio-free status. (Photo: Rambachan Bharati /© WHO India)

A WHO-National Public Heath Support Network (NPSN) officer reviewing the daily activity plan with frontline workers in Doharighat block, Mau district. WHO-NPSN supports the government in capacity building, planning, and monitoring of polio vaccination. (Photo: Rambachan Bharati /© WHO India)

A WHO surveillance medical officer inspects ice packs and vaccine carriers at a cold chain centre in Mau to ensure the safety and potency of vaccines during transit. (Photo: Rambachan Bharati /© WHO India)

A person being brought to STNM Hospital Gangtok in Sikkim during a mock drill in resilience planning, emergency response and disaster management under the Government of Sikkim’s Resilient Health Infrastructure Programme. The initiative is being supported by WHO India and Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. (Photo: Girish Chandra Dash / © WHO India)

WHO Representative to India Dr Roderico H. Ofrin with a child who is getting immunized at Urban Primary Health Centre Daryaganj in Delhi. WHO India provides technical and field support to the Government of India to immunize and protect every child. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

Full immunization protects children against several vaccine-preventable diseases. A child proudly holds up his vaccination card after getting vaccinated against measles-rubella at an Urban Primary Health Centre in Delhi. (Photo: Rajiv Solanki / © WHO India)

WHO supported an advocacy session to reduce vaccine hesitancy in Toulbung village in the hard-to-reach district of Pherzawl in Manipur. With support from the village chief, the WHO field team organized an advocacy session with the community to share information, respond to queries, and address misconceptions about vaccination. (Photo: © WHO India)

Over 22.3 million children between the ages of nine months and 15 years have been vaccinated as part of a measles and rubella (MR) catch-up campaign launched on 9 January 2023 in West Bengal. WHO teams are working with the government in MR surveillance, strengthening immunization, outbreak response, strengthening laboratory network. (Photo: © WHO India)

Reaching the unreached! A WHO team on its way to the Bansberia Char, a riverine island, in Hooghly for a vaccination session. WHO is committed to working with Member States to ensure access to life-saving vaccines! (Photo: © WHO India)

Nurse Ms Karnuale Pame carrying vaccines across River Jiri to Impa Ningdi village under Tousem subdivision in Tamenglong district, Manipur, for Routine Immunization. It takes 3.5 hours to reach Impa Nigdi from Aben Sub-Centre, where Ms Pame supports ANM Ms Thiamboi Gangmei cover the routine immunization sessions in 14 hard-to-reach villages. (Photo: © WHO India)