Swabi to miss immunisation third time in a row

District management says security lacking for polio workers in region

PESHAWAR:

Swabi district will miss the National Immunisation Drive (NID) for a third time due to security reasons as authorities across the province gear up for the inoculation campaign. A separate drive will be carried out in the district later in March.

This will be the third time that Swabi misses the campaign. Officials cited lack of security for polio workers as a reason for holding separate campaigns in the district.

Police officials said security conditions have improved over time as compared to the previous years. However, delaying a nationwide campaign clearly suggested the ground realities are different.

“It could be the case since our force [polio teams] is prepared,” a senior official dealing with the polio eradication campaign informed The Express Tribune. “But we have been informed the district management is not prepared to hold the campaign.”

Under attack

When contacted, Swabi District Health Officer Dr Niaz told The Express Tribune a majority of attacks on polio workers have taken place in Swabi in the past.

Dr Yaqoob, an Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) district coordinator from Swabi, was also killed in an attack in November 2015.

“However, since we are short of police officials, we have asked for more personnel them from other districts,” he said. “Our request for more police is the reason why a separate campaign was being carried out in the district.”

Swabi District Police Officer Javed Iqbal said only one police constable accompanied a polio team in other districts previously. However, following Dr Yaqoob’s murder, the police department decided two constables will provide security to a polio team.

“Around 900 teams are involved in the campaign and it requires at least 1,800 police personnel to provide security to them. Our operational force is around 800, which is insufficient for the teams,” Iqbal told The Express Tribune.

He added extra forces had been called from Hazara and Malakand divisions for the first campaign, and Kohat and Bannu divisions for the second.

Immunisation

The NID campaign will be held across the province. At least 5,586,250 children will be inoculated against the crippling virus. Over 15,398 mobile teams will be inoculating the children.

At least five cases have been confirmed in 2016, with three cases from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Balochistan and Sindh. Besides Swabi, 10 union councils in Chitral district will also miss the drive because of snowfall and bad weather.

Around 38,000 children in Orakzai Agency will be administered polio drops during the immunisation drive.

Agency surgeon Dr Muhammad Idrees told The Express Tribune preparations have been completed and the cooperation of tribal elders is needed to carry out the drive.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2016.