Polio teams to go after missed children today

Almost 97% of city’s children given polio drops in five-day campaign

KARACHI:

The polio teams will go after children who missed the drops or whose parents refused during the five-day campaign that ends today.

Around 97 per cent of Karachi's children were administered polio drops in the city-wide campaign that was held amid strict security since Monday. The last two days of the campaign, Thursday and today, were marked as 'catch-up' days to make sure all children are covered.



The ratio of refusals and missing cases was lower than previous drives, said Dr Muhammad Usman Chachar, the coordinator of the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC). There are always moments when families are not home or the children were visiting relatives, he explained.

The health officials termed this campaign as outstanding compared to the ones carried out in the past two-and-a-half years. It was due to the extensive planning that went into the campaign before it was launched, said a health officer, adding that the performance of the law enforcement agencies, including the police and Rangers, was better than previous campaigns.

Officers at all levels - from union councils' medical officers to taluka health officers, SHOs to SSPs and assistant commissioners to deputy commissioners - remained active in the field.

Not only was the security plan much better this time but the deployment and involvement of the administration was very apparent, said Dr Chachar, the coordinator of the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC).



"It was the best campaign in the city," claimed Dr Chachar, adding that a neutral party can confirm the quality of the campaign. He added, however, that there were some weaknesses among health workers.

According to EOC officials, out of 6,308 polio teams, 6,260 teams were available in the field. Approximately, 5,000 policemen were deployed in various areas. Security personnel were not deployed in all areas but only in sensitive ones, said an officer.

Meanwhile, Rangers issued a statement on Thursday claiming that 2,500 of their men provided duties with the polio teams. A total of 170 vans and 25 motorcycles were part of the squad accompanying the polio teams, it stated. On the other hand, health officials estimated that no more than 400 Rangers personnel were deployed.

Chachar added, nevertheless, that they appreciate the Rangers' help. "The credit for this successful campaign goes to the Karachi commissioner [Syed Asif Hayder Shah], who was personally throughout the campaign," he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 15^th, 2016.