– Ronita Torcato 

The Government of Goa has launched India’s first dedicated Life-course Immunisation Policy 2026–2036 developed by the Directorate of Health Services, Goa, in collaboration with Goa Institute of Management (GIM) and Goa Medical College.

Vishwajit Pratapsingh Rane, Goa’s minister for health, formally released the policy on September 23, making Goa the first state in the country to adopt a dedicated policy focused on life-course immunisation. The ten-year policy is designed to extend the benefits of vaccination beyond childhood and integrate adult vaccination into routine healthcare.

Speaking at the launch, Rane said, “The Goa Policy for Life-course Immunization 2026–2036 reflects our commitment to strengthening preventive healthcare, promoting healthy ageing and protecting adults who are particularly vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases. ”

Prof. Arun A. Elias, director, GIM, Prof. Ajay Vamadevan, and Dr Praveen Pradeep, associate professor, GIM, participated in the programme.

Speaking during the event, Prof. Elias acknowledged faculty “whose work helped translate research into an implementable policy. This is exactly the kind of contribution we hope GIM can continue making”.

The policy launch was followed by a panel discussion titled “From policy to implementation in Goa, and implications for national adoption”.

The Goa Policy for Life-course Immunization 2026–2036 emphasises evidence, monitoring, digital tracking and periodic review and is intended to allow the program to evolve alongside emerging clinical evidence and national immunisation guidance.

The first phase of implementation will focus on pneumococcal, influenza and hepatitis B vaccination for eligible adults. Beneficiaries will include people living with diabetes, cancer, chronic heart, lung, kidney or liver diseases, as well as immunocompromised individuals, healthcare and other frontline workers, in accordance with the policy’s eligibility criteria.

For this, specialist and Non Communicable Disease (NCD) clinics at Goa Medical College and district hospitals will identify eligible patients and facilitate vaccination.

The Goa Institute of Management is the first higher education institution globally to integrate Social, Emotional, and Ethical (SEE) Learning into its academic curriculum. Located in North Goa district, GIM offers four full-time PGDM programmes approved by AICTE, and accredited by the National Board of Accreditation (NBA).  Additionally, the Institute has collaborated with Nova School of Business and Economics, Portugal, to offer an International Double Degree in Analytics (IDA).

GIM’s PGDM-Hybrid programme was ranked among the Top 7 Executive MBA programmes in India by the QS Executive MBA Rankings 2025.