Polio campaign from April 25 to April 27

BAHALWALPUR:

“It is our national responsibility to eradicate poliomyelitis once and for all,” Rahim Yar Khan DCO Hanif said on Sunday at a meeting to discuss the upcoming polio eradication campaign scheduled for April 25 to 27. “This terrible disease can disable children for the rest of their lives.”

Hanif said that Pakistan was close to being the only country in the world that has not yet eradicated polio. “This is dangerous for our economy and our reputation across the globe.” The DCO directed all assistant commissioners to monitor training workshops being held under the Health Department. He also told them to actively participate in the workshops.

He said that there should be no communication gap between relevant departments and officials. “Decisions taken at one level must reach the tiers below them.” He said this was essential to achieve 100 per cent results.

The DCO stressed the need to set up a control room and use social media to raise awareness about the campaign. He told officials to launch an advertisement drive to make the Health Department’s campaigns successful. He thanked several departments for making the Health Department’s polio campaigns successful.

Health DO Hassan Khan said training workshops for the upcoming campaign had started. Coordinator on Health to the DCO Mufakir Mian said 839,189 children, under the age of five years, in the district will be vaccinated in the campaign. He said 1,743 mobile teams, 223 stationed teams and on 146 teams had been deputed at transit points in the district.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th,  2016.