President Pranab Mukherjee today launched the pulse polio programme for 2017 by administering polio drops to children aged below five years at a function in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Mr Mukherjee launched the countrywide programme on the eve of the National Immunization Day. The programme will cover around 17 crore children aged under five years in an effort to maintain the country's polio-free status. <br/><br/>Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister J P Nadda said, as the risk of importation of polio from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria still persists, the country needs to maintain the population immunity and sensitive surveillance till global polio eradication achieved. He added, the government is conducting continuous polio vaccination at the international borders with India. <br/><br/>Mr Nadda said that polio-free certification of the entire South-East Asia Region of WHO including India on 27th of March, 2014 is a huge accomplishment in the history of public health. The Minister said, the government has also introduced the injectable Inactivated Polio Vaccine into its routine immunization program to provide double protection to the children. Noting that immunization is one of the key interventions in reducing child deaths in country, he said that to expand the scope of immunization, Rotavirus virus vaccine has been introduced as part of the Universal Immunisation Programme last year. <br/><br/>He said, the Ministry will soon introduce Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine to reduce the burden of diarrhea, pneumonia and meningitis It will also conduct a countrywide campaign with Measles-Rubella vaccine in phased manner. Mr Nadd also pointed out that India has reduced under-5 mortality rate from 75 per 1000 live births in 2005 to 45 per 1000 in 2014.