Review meeting: Vaccination target for 2016 almost met

ISLAMABAD: The vaccination target set for 2016 was nearly met while there was a need to continue making efforts to sustain quality of work.

This was stated by Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq during a meeting to review the immunisation campaign on Tuesday. She added that they were “very close” to eradicating polio but the job was not yet done.

“Our struggle to squeeze out the virus from Pakistan has resulted in the least cases we have had ever since 2005,” she said confirming that to date only 20 cases had recorded across Pakistan in 2016, down from 54 cases in 2015 and 306 in 2014. She added that despite many ups and downs in 2016, over 99 per cent of vaccination targets were achieved during the year

In this regard, the focus must now shift towards selection and deployment of well-trained and supervised female vaccinators in addition to quality micro-plans to track and vaccinate new-born, guest and transit children.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 1^st, 2017.