Hire vaccinators for effective anti-polio drives: Tarar

Says there needs to be a special focus on 12 high-risk union councils of Islamabad

ISLAMABAD: The Minister for National Health Services Saira Afzal Tarar presiding over a polio review meeting directed the city administration to fill human resource gaps in the polio campaigns in Islamabad for effective vaccination drives. According to officials, about 400 volunteers were needed to carry out effective vaccination campaigns in Islamabad as hundreds of seats of vaccinators and medical officers have been vacant for years in Capital Development Authority (CDA).

In the meeting held on Wednesday the officials shared concerns about the suboptimal vaccination drives in Islamabad due to involvement of various ministries and lack of human resource.

Tarar said there needs to be a special focus on 12 high-risk Union Councils of Islamabad with additional human resource and special monitoring teams comprising senior officials.

Micro-plans of all union councils need to be updated so that each household and mobile population was mapped and covered, said the minister.

Special vaccination camps should be organised for polio and routine immunisation in 12 high risk union councils of Islamabad, directed by the minister.

“We need to cover sectors E-11, F-11 and G-13 with additional focus so that no child is missed,” Tarar said.

The minister directed that each polio team must maintain a list of all missed children during each campaign so that they are covered in the subsequent campaign.

She said that she would personally visit union councils in Islamabad to check preparedness for July polio campaign and review each aspect.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2017.