Anti-polio campaign: ‘Increase in parental refusals, but number still not alarming’

ISLAMABAD:

Polio teams participating in a three-day anti-polio drive saw increase in parental refusal. The number, however, was not large enough to be alarming, said Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Deputy Commissioner Amir Ali Ahmed.

“Though we saw an increase in parental refusals, [the number] still cannot be considered alarming,” DC Ahmed said.

The three-day drive, targeting 60,000 children in the high-risk areas of Islamabad, concluded on Thursday. A final figure of the number of children inoculated against the crippling disease is expected to be compiled in the coming days, said officials.

Officials at the Capital Development Authority (CDA) --- conducting the campaign --- said that the refusals came mainly from Pashtun families living in Dhoke Abbasi, Mehra Jaffar and Mehrabad. The ICT admin teams targeting the rural areas faced a similar resistance in Tarlai and Sohan.

“We witnessed an increase in the number of parental refusals in rural areas,” said CDA Health Services Director Dr Hasan Orooj.

Dr Orooj was also not happy with the inadequate security provided to the teams. The CDA had asked for 230 policemen to accompany vaccination teams, but the police gave only 22, said he said.

Dr Orooj said the CDA chairman has written to the Islamabad police asking for better security during an upcoming anti-polio drive in February. More than 200 vaccinators work for the CDA.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2013.