Security concerns: Government postpones anti-polio campaign

Campaign was originally scheduled for first week of February but was postponed till February 18, and now indefinitely.


Our Correspondent February 18, 2013
The door-to-door polio eradication campaign in the city were brought to a standstill after five female health workers were shot last December. PHOTO: FILE.

KARACHI:


The polio eradication campaign in the city was postponed for the second time this month, after authorities appeared reluctant to put the lives of the vaccinators at risk given the current law and order situation.


The campaign was originally scheduled for the first week of February, but was postponed till February 18 due to security concerns. However, it has now been postponed for an indefinite time. “We cannot give an exact date, but hope to conduct the campaign as soon as the law and order situation improves,” said Dr Mazhar Ali Khamisani, provincial head of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation. “Everyone can see the condition in the city for themselves, and we have strict orders to ensure the security of vaccinators, [especially] after the December incident.”

The door-to-door polio eradication campaign in the city were brought to a standstill after five female health workers were shot last December. In January, the authorities decided to launch the drive in a few areas at a time. The government had also deputed police and Rangers personnel to travel with vaccination teams.

Unfortunately, the city saw its first polio case in 13 months when two-year-old Musharraf, a resident of Railway Colony in Bin Qasim Town, was diagnosed with the disease on February 1. Before Musharraf, the last polio case to emerge in the city was reported in November 2011, when 16-month-old Kainat, a resident of Baldia Town, was confirmed with the disease.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19th, 2013.

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