3.2m children to be vaccinated against polio

The Khyber Pakthunkhwa Health Department has constituted 9972 vaccination teams to administer Bivalent Oral Polio Vaccine (BOPV) drops to 3.2 million children below five years of age in three-day immunization campaign starting from July 18-20 in Khyber Pakthunkhwa, official said.

Dr Asma Alamgir, President Women Wing PPP KPK and Member President’s Oversight Committee for Polio Eradication formally inaugurated the third National Immunization Campaign where fifteen districts would be fully covered while drive in four districts including Mardan, Nowshera excluding Jalozai, Batagram and Tank have been delayed for one week due to inadequate preparations.

Speaking on the occasion, Asma Alamgir said the government was giving priority to polio eradication programme so that no child could be crippled for life.

She said the President and Prime Minister were taking keen interests in polio eradication programmes keeping in view of its paramount importance.

She said under the Prime Minister’s Action Plan against polio, the campaign is being monitored at the grass rout level and army has been requested for providing security to staff and field workers for extensive vaccination to tribal people in Fata.

Underling the need for active role of media, ulema and other segment of the society to make the programme a success, she said that refusal cases could be tackled effectively by educating masses and media and ulema can play a vital role in this regard.

She directed the Secretary Health to cover the uncovered Union Councils in far flung areas of Khyber Pakthunkhwa so that no child could be deprived of the facility.

She said that political parties and local elders could also play an important role to educate and aware masses about Government’s endeavours against polio.

Asma said women volunteers should be hired for vaccination in Malakand Division and Kohistan district to avoid refusal cases.

She requested the Prime Minister to extend more support for eradication of polio in KPK and Fata.

Stressing the need for establishment of vaccination points on Pak Afghan border areas, she said these points at border areas of KPK and Fata would also be extremely helpful.

She said that polio free Pakistan was the dream of Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and the government would fulfill her dream at every cost.

Khyber Pakthunkhwa Secretary Health Cap Retd Munir Azam said refusal cases are one of the major hurdles for high reported cases in KPK and sought the role of media for education of masses to discourage this tendency.

Dr Janbaz Afridi, Deputy Director EPI KPK said that a total of six polio cases from three districts have so far been reported from Khyber Pukhtunkhwa this year. The reported cases include three from Peshawar, two from Torghar and one from Bannu districts while 59 cases were so far reported from Pakistan this year. Out of 59 cases, he said that 20 cases were reported from Fata, six KPK, 18 Balochistan, 14 Sindh and one from Gilgit Baltistan and significantly no case has been reported from Punjab and AJK this year.

The Health Department has arranged 9,972 vaccination teams, which will be supervised by 1976 area in-charges include lady health workers and their supervisors, other cadre of health staff and teachers.

He said the necessary logistics including vaccines, finger-markers, social mobilization materials and recording forms have been provided to the districts.

Preparations in the districts have been started with assistance of District Coordination Officers who have been tasked to lead polio eradication efforts as envisaged in the President’s National Emergency Action Plan and Provincial Emergency Action Plan.

He said the Health Department has established polio control room with assistance of WHO and UNICEF under supervision of Deputy Director EPI, KPK and will function daily to provide latest updates of program. The most significant challenge is lack of uniformity in coverage at sub-district (Union Council) level, refusal cases, law and order situation and inaccessibility. The key target in every district is to have at least 95% finger-marking coverage in every union council.