On a mission: Special polio drive for de-notified areas of SWA

PESHAWAR: A special campaign against polio was launched and successfully completed in three de-notified tehsils of South Waziristan. The special campaign was launched by Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) FATA in 36 villages of the three tehsils with the help of 73 polio teams on the ground.

Another emergency response campaign was also launched in FR Bannu and FR Lakki Marwat because of the sudden emergence of polio cases in Bannu.  This campaign also ended successfully where around 99% (63,468 out of 63,600) of the targeted children were vaccinated.

In a Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) meeting at the Governor House, Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra lauded the efforts of the EOC FATA team. He also announced an award of Rs500,000 for the team. He added special awards would be given to the best on-ground performers after Eidul Fitr. He stressed on the need for the total elimination of polio from the region and advised the team to maintain the current momentum. He hoped PEI gains could be utilised to improve routine immunisation in Fata and elsewhere.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 10^th, 2016.