Polio: Charsadda begins fresh drive without women volunteers

Polio teams escorted by Frontier Constabulary personnel.

MANSEHRA/ CHARSADDA: Dedicated health workers stepped out on the streets of Charsadda once again to vaccinate children against polio, but this time, there were no women.

Following the targeted attacks on polio workers, which killed nine people in the country including a lady health worker in Shabqadar, women volunteers refused to take part in the anti-polio drive.

The three-day campaign was launched on Thursday in five union councils, including Uthmanzai, Dehri Zardad and Nissata.  Union councils’ secretaries and patwaries of various circles took part in the vaccination drive and immunised the children.  District Education Officer Attaullah Khan said that primary schools teachers also took part in the campaign.

The door-to-door drive went peacefully throughout the day and teams were escorted by the Frontier Constabulary personnel.

Strict security measures were already imposed by the district administration due to the Chehlum of Hazrat Imam Hussain (RA). A ban on pillion ridding had been imposed and mobile services were suspended across the country.



“We will continue the drive in the district and eradicate the crippling disease at any cost,” said Health EDO Dr Fazal Akbar. He added that they will seek cooperation from the education and revenue departments, among other departments, for this purpose.

“Health workers do not need to worry about their safety because the city administration has taken all measures to provide full security to workers,” he said.

Two arrested for impeding polio drive

Meanwhile in Mansehra, two brothers were arrested for harassing and creating hindrances for polio teams in Ichriayan village, police said.

A police official quoted a supervisor at the basic health unit, Shabnam Bibi, as saying that she was visiting a house when two brothers, Saifur Rehman and Shamsur Rehman, started using abusive language against her team members and the Government of Pakistan.

The brothers said the anti-polio drive was un-Islamic and snatched official papers from the team. The polio team was then forced to suspend its work and reported the incident to Health EDO Dr Siddique Rehman.

Later on the directives of the deputy commissioner in Mansehra, police registered a case against the brothers and arrested them under various sections of the Pakistan Penal Code.

After the killing of the polio workers last month, the United Nations had suspended its ground operation in the country with immediate effect. However, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government restarted the campaign soon after.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2013.