Spoilt vaccines: Probe body recommends removal of three EPI officials

Suggests revamping the entire cold chain system.

ISLAMABAD:

An inquiry committee tasked with probing the loss of pentavalent vaccines worth $1.3 million has recommended that one senior and two junior staffers of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) be removed from their position for negligence.

It also recommended that the cold chain system should be reworked to avoid such incidents in the future.

The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC) constituted an inquiry committee headed by Health Joint Secretary Amir Sheikh after an email authoured by a possible whistleblower was sent to top Pakistani health officials and the World Health Organisation on February 22.

The email said that the pentavalent vaccines donated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI), which provide immunity against five deadly diseases, had spoilt while being kept in an EPI storeroom at the National Institute of Health (NIH)
due to temperature variations.

After probing the incident, the inquiry committee found EPI Operations Deputy Director Dr Najamullah Baig, storekeeper Rizwan Bashir and store engineer Altaf Hussain guilty and recommended that
they be removed from their posts.

Bashir and Hussian were suspended  immediately after the incident was reported.

Baig has been working with the EPI for the past two years and was earlier employed by the National Institute of Health (NIH).

The inquiry committee is also looking into the role of Deputy Programme Manager Dr Saveeta Vankwani, who directly oversees the monitoring of the storeroom.

It concluded that necessary action will be suggested if she is found guilty. Vankwani is the wife of a ruling-party MNA.

Talking to The Express Tribune Mazhar Nisar, a member of the inquiry committee and also its spokesperson, said the panel is looking into it the case from different angles and will take all necessary action against staff members who are found guilty.

He said negligence in handling stocks, dereliction of duty, failure to provide effective supervision and monitoring, and failure to adherence to standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been identified as the main causes of the vaccine spoilage.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2015.