Govt revamps approach to polio campaign

Mardan commissioner, DIG assure paramedics of complete security

PESHAWAR/ MARDAN: With as many as 92 polio cases being reported from the province last year and six reported so far in 2020, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Chief Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz on Friday said that the provincial government has completely revamped its entire anti-polio campaign.

He said this while inaugurating a five-day, province-wide polio campaign at the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) in Peshawar on Friday.

The chief secretary said that the complete eradication of the poliovirus from the country is at the top of the provincial and the federal government’s priority list. He added that both were making serious efforts to eliminate the menace.

Terming polio eradication a national cause, and collective responsibility, he urged all segments of the society, donor agencies and government institutions to make coordinated and organised efforts to save future generations from life-long disabilities.

In this regard, Dr Niaz said that public awareness is critical for the success of polio campaigns, adding that media is the most effective tool for creating awareness at the mass level.

Replying to a question the chief secretary conceded that 2019 was not encouraging with regards to polio cases, but assured that “the provincial government is fully committed to eradicating poliovirus from the province.“

“The provincial government has revisited and revamped the entire polio campaign and now it is being launched with a totally new and different approach so that cent per cent result of the campaign is achieved,” he remarked, adding that he personally monitors every polio campaign at the provincial level.

At the district level, he said that deputy commissioners have been assigned special tasks with their annual performance reports now tied to their performance in polio campaigns.

The five-day anti-polio campaign will formally commence next week and will seek to immunise more than 6.7 million children under the five-years-of-age across the province.

As many as 28,049 teams of trained lady health workers have been deputed for the campaign, which includes 24,900 mobile, 1,849 fixed and 1,300 transit teams to ensure reach out to every single child of the age group.

Security meeting

The Mardan Division Commissioner Muthahir Zeb Khan and Mardan DIG Sher Akbar among other relevant officials held a meeting on Friday to review the security arrangements made for the upcoming polio campaign in the division.

During the meeting, it was decided that the two lady health workers who had been gunned down during a limited drive-in Swabi last month, should be nominated for civil awards.

Reviewing the security situation in the region, it was decided that measures will be adopted by the district and local police to arrest those involved in the murder of the LHWs.

Commissioner Mutahir further recommended that the provincial assembly award the shuhada (martyrs) package to the family of the slain LHWs.

In the meeting, the commissioner was briefed about the security measures adopted in the division. He urged the district police to provide stringent security to polio teams.

Later, Mardan Division Commissioner Muthahir Mardan DIG Akbar assured a delegation led by the All Pakistan Paramedical Staff Federation Central President Sharafatullah Yousafzai, senior vice chairman Parvez Khan, Paramedical Association Mardan District president Fazal Qayum, K-P GHA Central Member Almeen Ifthikhar, LHS Salma Akbar and others of meeting their demands.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 15^th, 2020.