A health worker administers polio vaccine to a child in Peshawar. PHOTO: FILE
PESHAWAR: A three day anti polio campaign officially commenced on Monday, in 17 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) that have been considered high-risk and especially vulnerable to the polio virus.
This included Afghan refugee camps, where 4.437 million children under the age of five are to be vaccinated.
The provincial government has designed a concrete plan, featuring strict security measures.
The plan includes deployment of more than 26,000 police personnel to protect teams and prevent any hindrance.
A total of 16,002 teams have been constituted for the campaign out of which 13,953 are mobile teams, 1,079 fixed teams, 735 transit and 235 are roaming teams to administer anti-polio vaccine to children, say official sources.
According to sources EOC Coordinator Atif Rehman has directed to ensure quality campaign in the province and to ensure that no child was left unvaccinated as it will be hazardous for other children.
He urged parents to support teams who were braving many challenges on ground to ensure that two drops of vaccine were administered to every child and that children were protected from lifelong disability.
The disease is one that is extremely hazardous to all children. He urged parents to support the teams who are undergoing many challenges. The incentive is to ensure no child is left exposed to this life threatening disease.
The country has recorded eight polio cases in 2017 as compared to 20 cases in2016 and 306 in 2014. The K-P province has recorded one polio case in 2017 as compared to eight cases in 2016 and 68 in 2014.
The campaign followed a meeting at Emergency Operations Center K-P with Coordinator EOC Atif Rehman in the chair. UNICEF, Team Leader Dr Johar, WHO, Team Leader Dr Abdi Nasir and other relevant government and partner staff was in attendance.
Earlier, the meeting was informed that the upcoming campaign will be held in 17 high-risk districts of the province and Afghan refugees' camps to reach out to the target population of 4.437 million children.
The meeting was informed that campaign will be held in Bannu, Charsadda, Chitral, DI Khan, Dir Lower, Dir Upper, Hangu, Karak, Kohat, Lakki Marwat, Malakand,Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, Swabi, Swat and Tank.
Ensuring the eradication
Peshawar Deputy Commissioner Islam Zeb inaugurated anti polio drive on Monday at Fauji Foundation Hospital by administering the anti-polio vaccine to children.
DC Zeb stated that the district administration was fully aware of its responsibility to immunize children from this dangerous disability and to make every effort to ensure the campaigns success by providing safe and secure environment to the teams on ground and by addressing other field related issues.
Zeb said that he chaired evening meetings on daily basis at District Polio Control Room (DPCR) during which matters related to campaign were taken up with the concerned departments so that the issues were resolved in time.
It is due to effective planning and implementation by the district administration and Emergency Operations Center Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that no polio case has been reported from Peshawar for the last two years, which was declared as the major hub and reservoir of the virus. He said that we proudly celebrate two years of polio free status yet it does not mean that we should rest on our laurels as virus is still circulating in the environment and any lapse can land us back in the problem.
Therefore, he continued that the district administration was very much focused on polio eradication and will not rest till the menace was wiped out of the country for good. Earlier, he formally inaugurated the three days anti-polio campaign in the district by administrating drops to the children. Senior management of the Fauji Foundation Hospital was also present on the occasion.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 13th, 2018.
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