Low rate of routine immunisation prevails in Karachi's slums
Costly travel of long distances, lack of vaccine centres discourage families from getting children immunised
PHOTO: EXpress
KARACHI:
In the slums of Karachi where awareness is low, many children are not administered vaccines for the nine preventable diseases that make up the routine immunisation plan.
With an international spotlight on polio, early childhood vaccination for other diseases such as pneumonia, Hepatitis B and meningitis has taken a back seat, leaving children vulnerable to serious health issues.
The absence of enough vaccination centres in neighbourhoods such as Landhi, Malir, Qasim Town, Shah Latif Town, Baldia Town and Gadap means parents have to either travel miles to get their children vaccinated or pay thousands of rupees at a nearby private clinics.
Due to international pressure, polio drops are administered around the city in door-to-door campaigns but there is no such facility for routine immunisation. "It is almost impossible for us to spend money on travelling to get our children vaccinated," says Asma Bibi, a resident of Qasim Town.
Larkana has the lowest immunisation coverage in Sindh
Dr Ghulam Qadir Odh, senior medical officer at a government-run facility in Landhi's Labour Square, admits areas such as Shah Latif and Qasim Town do not have dispensaries and that there are no lady health workers working in these areas either. "With no facility and lady health workers to motivate families, how can we expect people to get their children vaccinated?" he asked. "There is a dire need to increase the number of vaccination centres to improve the coverage of routine immunisation."
Aga Khan University's associate professor of paediatrics and research director, Dr Asad Ali, told The Express Tribune that a lack of awareness regarding routine immunisation is another major reason for its low coverage.
"Parents only take polio and measles seriously because the media talks more about these diseases," said Dr Ali. "Polio is taken seriously because we have international pressure to eradicate the disease."
It is every child's right to be vaccinated and parents need to be their children's advocates, Ali said. "When you immunise your children, you are protecting them from illnesses and serious conditions such as meningitis, pneumonia, paralysis, deafness, seizures or brain damage," he added.
Immunisation drive: IPVs cannot replace polio drops, warns EOC head
Sindh Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Project Director Dr Agha Ashfaq also admits that the rate of routine immunisation coverage is quite low for a city as big as Karachi. He explained that the authorities concerned have devised a programme for the slums in Karachi and Hyderabad in which EPI's coverage had been increased by 10% in 2016.
"All EPI centres regularly receive free vaccines and since 2015, lady health workers and community health workers have also started inquiring about routine immunisation from mothers when they go for polio vaccinations," said Odh.
Meanwhile, Dr Ashfaq said that lady health workers are being trained for routine immunisation coverage and the coverage is likely to improve in the years to come.
World Immunisation Week: Total coverage of EPI just 54%, reveal experts
Talking about the lack of vaccination centres, Ashfaq clarified that it was not their 'responsibility' to open centres in every area.
"The onus is on town officers of the areas where there are no centres. They need to inform us and we will provide everything to run the centre," Ashfaq said, adding only a Memorandum of Understanding needs to be signed with EPI to open a centre.
Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (Gavi) Communications Consultant Huma Khawar said that Pakistan is the largest recipient of Gavi funding but the coverage of immunisation is very low. "It is encouraging to see polio resources are now being used to improve the routine immunisation coverage in the city," she said.
Public v/s private vaccines
Some people also have concerns that vaccines provided at government hospitals are of low quality.
Targeted campaign: Polio vaccination drive kicks off in Sindh
Addressing this fear, Dr Ali shared that vaccines provided at private hospitals are of the same quality as the ones in government hospitals.
"There is no need to go to a private hospital and spend Rs25,000 to get your children vaccinated for the first 16 months when they can be vaccinated free of charge at a public hospital," he said.
In the slums of Karachi where awareness is low, many children are not administered vaccines for the nine preventable diseases that make up the routine immunisation plan.
With an international spotlight on polio, early childhood vaccination for other diseases such as pneumonia, Hepatitis B and meningitis has taken a back seat, leaving children vulnerable to serious health issues.
The absence of enough vaccination centres in neighbourhoods such as Landhi, Malir, Qasim Town, Shah Latif Town, Baldia Town and Gadap means parents have to either travel miles to get their children vaccinated or pay thousands of rupees at a nearby private clinics.
Due to international pressure, polio drops are administered around the city in door-to-door campaigns but there is no such facility for routine immunisation. "It is almost impossible for us to spend money on travelling to get our children vaccinated," says Asma Bibi, a resident of Qasim Town.
Larkana has the lowest immunisation coverage in Sindh
Dr Ghulam Qadir Odh, senior medical officer at a government-run facility in Landhi's Labour Square, admits areas such as Shah Latif and Qasim Town do not have dispensaries and that there are no lady health workers working in these areas either. "With no facility and lady health workers to motivate families, how can we expect people to get their children vaccinated?" he asked. "There is a dire need to increase the number of vaccination centres to improve the coverage of routine immunisation."
Aga Khan University's associate professor of paediatrics and research director, Dr Asad Ali, told The Express Tribune that a lack of awareness regarding routine immunisation is another major reason for its low coverage.
"Parents only take polio and measles seriously because the media talks more about these diseases," said Dr Ali. "Polio is taken seriously because we have international pressure to eradicate the disease."
It is every child's right to be vaccinated and parents need to be their children's advocates, Ali said. "When you immunise your children, you are protecting them from illnesses and serious conditions such as meningitis, pneumonia, paralysis, deafness, seizures or brain damage," he added.
Immunisation drive: IPVs cannot replace polio drops, warns EOC head
Sindh Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Project Director Dr Agha Ashfaq also admits that the rate of routine immunisation coverage is quite low for a city as big as Karachi. He explained that the authorities concerned have devised a programme for the slums in Karachi and Hyderabad in which EPI's coverage had been increased by 10% in 2016.
"All EPI centres regularly receive free vaccines and since 2015, lady health workers and community health workers have also started inquiring about routine immunisation from mothers when they go for polio vaccinations," said Odh.
Meanwhile, Dr Ashfaq said that lady health workers are being trained for routine immunisation coverage and the coverage is likely to improve in the years to come.
World Immunisation Week: Total coverage of EPI just 54%, reveal experts
Talking about the lack of vaccination centres, Ashfaq clarified that it was not their 'responsibility' to open centres in every area.
"The onus is on town officers of the areas where there are no centres. They need to inform us and we will provide everything to run the centre," Ashfaq said, adding only a Memorandum of Understanding needs to be signed with EPI to open a centre.
Global Alliance for Vaccination and Immunisation (Gavi) Communications Consultant Huma Khawar said that Pakistan is the largest recipient of Gavi funding but the coverage of immunisation is very low. "It is encouraging to see polio resources are now being used to improve the routine immunisation coverage in the city," she said.
Public v/s private vaccines
Some people also have concerns that vaccines provided at government hospitals are of low quality.
Targeted campaign: Polio vaccination drive kicks off in Sindh
Addressing this fear, Dr Ali shared that vaccines provided at private hospitals are of the same quality as the ones in government hospitals.
"There is no need to go to a private hospital and spend Rs25,000 to get your children vaccinated for the first 16 months when they can be vaccinated free of charge at a public hospital," he said.