85 parents refuse polio drops to their children

4,979 children could not be inoculated in the campaign launched in northern K-P

PESHAWAR: As Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) remains polio-free for the current year, the officials involved in the eradication campaign still came across 85 parents who refused to get their children vaccinated, while some 4,979 children could not be inoculated in the latest drive.

Officials dealing with campaigns reiterated that the emergency operation centre was putting all-out efforts and was close to stopping the virus’s transmission.

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In the latest special campaign, the areas targeted was northern K-P including Swabi, Buner, Haripur and Tor Ghar, said the officials, adding that some 0.66 million children were living in the areas targeted.

“Yes, we missed around 5,000 children nevertheless we call it an achievement since the figure has dropped down sharply as compared to other campaigns carried out in the past,” a senior official involved in the polio eradication campaign told The Express Tribune.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said they had missed children because they were not available when the polio teams visited their respective homes.

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“When you have only 85 refusal cases in four heavily populated districts, it means things are headed in the right direction and we hope to stop the transmission of the virus very soon,” said the official, adding that another campaign was being planned across the province.

Earlier in August, Chairman Technical Advisory Group (TAG) Jean Marc also lauded the improvement in polio eradication across K-P.

Peshawar polio-free since February

During his visit to the emergency operation centres of K-P and Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Marc met officials besides representatives of the donor agencies including Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation, World Health Organisation, UNICEF and others.

This year, a total of four cases have been confirmed in the country – one each from Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Gilgit-Baltistan.