Better late than never: Police finally secure polio teams
Lack of security hampered immunisation efforts in first two days of campaign
PHOTO: AFP
KARACHI:
The Sindh police managed to provide security to polio teams working in three districts of the provincial capital on Friday, the third day of an ongoing immunisation campaign.
Health officials failed to cover several areas owing to inadequate security measures in the present four-day campaign that kicked-off on December 9. The rest of the city will be covered in the second phase, which starts from December 13.
At least 300 polio teams did not visit several neighbourhoods in districts East, West and Malir while around 170 remained inactive due to the late arrival of police personnel and lack of sufficient security measures. "Security was much better on the third day (Friday)," confirmed Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, who leads the Karachi Task Force (KTF) constituted by the Sindh government.
In 77 union councils of the three districts, teams administered polio drops to 296,424 children on the first day, and 323,762 on the second day; covering 90 per cent and 98 per cent targets respectively.
Siddiqui said the police have not provided the required number of personnel but the teams are still trying to manage. "The security arrangement is not ideal but we manage with the available police," he said. The commissioner also had a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday where he complained about the insufficient number of security personnel.
On the other hand, during a meeting of the KTF at the Commissioner Office on Friday, Siddiqui directed health officials to perform well. "We'll give awards to two taluka health officials on a monthly basis," he said.
Several children have been missed during the on-going drive; and polio teams will not only cover the missing kids but also those whose parents denied them the vaccination drops. "We'll cover them on the fourth day," the commissioner explained.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2015.
The Sindh police managed to provide security to polio teams working in three districts of the provincial capital on Friday, the third day of an ongoing immunisation campaign.
Health officials failed to cover several areas owing to inadequate security measures in the present four-day campaign that kicked-off on December 9. The rest of the city will be covered in the second phase, which starts from December 13.
At least 300 polio teams did not visit several neighbourhoods in districts East, West and Malir while around 170 remained inactive due to the late arrival of police personnel and lack of sufficient security measures. "Security was much better on the third day (Friday)," confirmed Karachi Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, who leads the Karachi Task Force (KTF) constituted by the Sindh government.
In 77 union councils of the three districts, teams administered polio drops to 296,424 children on the first day, and 323,762 on the second day; covering 90 per cent and 98 per cent targets respectively.
Siddiqui said the police have not provided the required number of personnel but the teams are still trying to manage. "The security arrangement is not ideal but we manage with the available police," he said. The commissioner also had a meeting with Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah on Thursday where he complained about the insufficient number of security personnel.
On the other hand, during a meeting of the KTF at the Commissioner Office on Friday, Siddiqui directed health officials to perform well. "We'll give awards to two taluka health officials on a monthly basis," he said.
Several children have been missed during the on-going drive; and polio teams will not only cover the missing kids but also those whose parents denied them the vaccination drops. "We'll cover them on the fourth day," the commissioner explained.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 12th, 2015.