Task force set up to ensure drive success

Mayor Aziz ends ambiguity of polio workers’ beats in twin cities

ISLAMABAD: A task-force will follow up on polio vaccination drive starting on May 7, to collect data and give feedback so that the next campaign could be made more effective, Islamabad Mayor of Anser Aziz said on Thursday.

Registration of every child under the age of five years with complete and complied data of anti-polio campaign is guarantee of success, said Aziz.

He was chairing a meeting of task force constituted on the directions of prime minister of Pakistan under the chairmanship of Mayor Islamabad. The meeting was attended by representatives of Islamabad and Rawalpindi administrations, district health officers and officers of the other concerned formations.



Mayor said that main objective of the task force is to establish effective liaison between the twin cities and formulate coordinated policy so that menace of polio could be completely eradicated.

Aziz said polio vaccination teams of Rawalpindi administration will administer anti-polio drops in the areas which are in the jurisdiction of Rawalpindi police while teams of Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) and Islamabad Capital Territory Administration (ICTA) will cover the areas that fall under jurisdiction of Islamabad police.

The measure will end the issue of children missing the inoculation due to due to unclear boundaries of the twin cities, he said.

Boundaries of seven union councils of Islamabad are common with Rawalpindi while boundaries of three union councils of Rawalpindi are common with Islamabad city, therefore, a clear cut demarcation is necessary so that every child under the age of five years can be administered oral polio vaccine (OPV).



Elected representatives will have to play their role in countering the vaccine refusal cases. Moreover he said extra vaccinators will be hired for the May 7 campaign.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 27^th, 2018.