Anti-polio drive begins in 19 K-P districts

Chief Secretary of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Shahzad Bangash on Monday launched an anti-polio drive in 19 districts of the province by administering polio drops to children at Sifwat Ghayyur Children Hospital.

As many as 3,456,000 children under the age of five will be vaccinated against polio from January 24 to January 30, 2022.

Deputy Commissioner Peshawar, DMS Sifwat Ghayyur Children's Hospital, representatives of WHO, UNICEF, Health Department and other donor agencies were also present on the occasion.

Talking to the media after the launch of the campaign, the chief secretary termed eradication of polio virus as a national cause and complete eradication of the crippling disease as the top priority of the government.

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He added that teams had been instructed to follow Covid-19 precautionary measures. “Over 3.4 million children under the age of five would be vaccinated against polio.”

Bangash said 14,887 teams of trained polio workers would take part in the drive and 3,603 area in-charges had also been deployed for effective monitoring of the campaign. During the anti-polio drive, he added, over 22,000 police and other law enforcement agencies personnel would be deployed for the security of polio workers.

The chief secretary urged all sections of the society to immunise their children below the age of five against polio in order to protect them from lifetime disability.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 25^th, 2022.