Crippling virus: ‘Synchronised polio campaigns need of the hour’

PESHAWAR: Synchronised polio campaigns should be conducted in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas to eradicate the crippling virus from the region.

Peshawar Commissioner Dr Muhammad Fakhar-e-Alam shared these views at a meeting of the provincial taskforce at Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) on Tuesday.  Deputy Commissioner Riaz Mehsud, EOC Coordinator Akbar Khan and other officials attended the meeting.

He also directed the relevant authorities to include more women in polio teams.  According to the commissioner, a large number of children were being missed due to the dearth of women in polio teams. “We appreciate the high spirit of [polio] teams,” he said. “Their efforts have been recognised at global and national level.”

He added administrative tools must be utilised to ensure children are administered polio drops.

Speaking on the occasion, Mehsud lauded the role of law-enforcement agencies in polio eradication.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 11^th, 2016.