Anti-polio drive to begin on 16th

A five-day anti-polio campaign will begin across Punjab from January 16.

The health authorities have set a target of vaccinating more than 22 million children up to the age of five years besides deploying 84,500 mobile teams and two lakh polio workers for the drive which will continue till January 20.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Akhtar Malik and Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal presided over a meeting of the Provincial Taskforce on Polio Eradication at the Civil Secretariat on Tuesday.

Secretary Primary Health Dr Irshad Ahmed, representatives of international organisations working for polio eradication and relevant officers attended the meeting while all the divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.

Dr Akhtar Malik directed the deputy commissioners to personally supervise the campaign in the districts.

He said 100% coverage must be ensured in high-risk districts, including Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad. Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal directed the deputy commissioners that the success rate in Lot Quality Assessment Survey (LQAS) should not be less than 95%.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2023.