Polio vaccinators to be upgraded

The Sindh government has decided to upgrade its polio vaccinators, on a similar pattern as is being done in Punjab, after a protest by the All Karachi Young Vaccinators (AKYV) and Vaccination Welfare Association (VWA).

The vaccinators staged a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club over non-payment of salaries and lack of promotion to higher grades on Monday.

AKYV and VWA chairperson Mola Bakhsh Chandio stated that the vaccinators had been working as grade six employees since 1989, while vaccinators who had passed the National Testing Service examinations had been deprived of their salaries for the last eight months.

He demanded that 1,320 vaccinators should be promoted to higher grades and 58 female vaccinators should be regularised.

A delegation led by the health secretary visited the protesters and asked them to end their demonstration, assuring them of the approval of their demands.

The Sindh Health Department later wrote a letter to the finance department, stating that the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) directors have worked to upgrade the vaccinators.

Further, the letter directed the finance department to take the required action in this regard following the law, while the documents prepared by the EPI directors for the task were also attached to the letter.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 14^th, 2020.