Polio immunisation drive exceeds target
1,375,234 children vaccinated, Health Dept says campaign was a success.
LAHORE:
The Health Department claims to have vaccinated 1,375,234 children during its 2011 Polio Campaign that ended on Sunday.
The campaign that started off with a target of vaccinating 1,360,866 children culminated with nearly 15,000 extra doses administered.
The Health Department is now planning to set up 24-hour polio vaccination camps at entrances to the city including the airport and railway stations.
A department official on Friday said that the campaign targets were met each day.
He said that the DCO had authorised establishment of new immunisation centers in eight to 10 union councils for all types of vaccinations.
Dr Haq Nawaz Bharwana, the Public Health DO, said that the decision had been made to facilitate visitors from areas around the city who came to Lahore to get their children immunised. “This will also help limit the import of virus into the city,” he added.
Naveed Malik, a Health Department official, said that nearly 1 million people entered the city daily. He said setting up camps at the entry points will help control the disease to an extent.
No more teachers
Dr Bharwana also said that the Health Department had decided to exclude teachers from all polio campaigns in the province as many of them were busy with the census drive 2011.
“Following this campaign, the teachers would not be considered in any of the polio drives that takes place in the future till the time the census is over.”
He said that the department will utilise the services of only the health workers and try to achieve all targets.
Bharwana said that the workers’ efficiency had improved over time as they had become more familiar with the areas they were responsible for.
He said that the system was becoming more transparent. The department had decided that the workers should work in their home towns for the campaigns to follow.
Room for improvement
Dr Fayyaz Sarwar, the World Health Organisation polio eradication specialist, said that although the system had shown some improvement there was still room for improvement.
He said, “There has been no case so far this year. We are looking forward to achieving the goal of eradicating polio from the country.”
Dr Sarwar said that the WHO has been supporting the district government in resourcing the campaign and identifying problem areas.
The doctors’ strike had created difficulties for the drive as most of the staff of the public hospital became unavailable. Dr Sarwar said that more female workers needed to participate in urban campaigns. In rural districts, he said, it was not a problem as many NGOs sent their female staff.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2011.
The Health Department claims to have vaccinated 1,375,234 children during its 2011 Polio Campaign that ended on Sunday.
The campaign that started off with a target of vaccinating 1,360,866 children culminated with nearly 15,000 extra doses administered.
The Health Department is now planning to set up 24-hour polio vaccination camps at entrances to the city including the airport and railway stations.
A department official on Friday said that the campaign targets were met each day.
He said that the DCO had authorised establishment of new immunisation centers in eight to 10 union councils for all types of vaccinations.
Dr Haq Nawaz Bharwana, the Public Health DO, said that the decision had been made to facilitate visitors from areas around the city who came to Lahore to get their children immunised. “This will also help limit the import of virus into the city,” he added.
Naveed Malik, a Health Department official, said that nearly 1 million people entered the city daily. He said setting up camps at the entry points will help control the disease to an extent.
No more teachers
Dr Bharwana also said that the Health Department had decided to exclude teachers from all polio campaigns in the province as many of them were busy with the census drive 2011.
“Following this campaign, the teachers would not be considered in any of the polio drives that takes place in the future till the time the census is over.”
He said that the department will utilise the services of only the health workers and try to achieve all targets.
Bharwana said that the workers’ efficiency had improved over time as they had become more familiar with the areas they were responsible for.
He said that the system was becoming more transparent. The department had decided that the workers should work in their home towns for the campaigns to follow.
Room for improvement
Dr Fayyaz Sarwar, the World Health Organisation polio eradication specialist, said that although the system had shown some improvement there was still room for improvement.
He said, “There has been no case so far this year. We are looking forward to achieving the goal of eradicating polio from the country.”
Dr Sarwar said that the WHO has been supporting the district government in resourcing the campaign and identifying problem areas.
The doctors’ strike had created difficulties for the drive as most of the staff of the public hospital became unavailable. Dr Sarwar said that more female workers needed to participate in urban campaigns. In rural districts, he said, it was not a problem as many NGOs sent their female staff.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 16th, 2011.