As many as 91,000 children under the age of five in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa missed polio drops during the seven-day anti-polio vaccination drive started on January 16 in the province, a report by the health department has disclosed.
The report said that more than 71,530 children were not present at their houses at the time of vaccination in 36 districts of the province while 20,305 parents refused to administer polio drops to their children.
It said that a target of vaccinating 7.459 million children was set for the week-long campaign out of which 7.455 million children were given the anti-polio drops and vitamin-A.
It said that majority of the refusal cases were reported from Peshawar where 7,352 parents declined to get their children vaccinated.
Similarly, 10,898 children were not present at home during the visit of polio teams. North Waziristan was the second district of the province where 2,919 parents refused polio vaccination to their children, followed by Bannu with 2,251 refusal cases.
The other districts of refusal cases included Charsadda with 215 cases, DI Khan 1,674 cases, Hangu nine cases, Haripur two cases, Karak 742 case, Khyber 206 cases, Kohat 161 cases, Lakki Marwat 1,437 cases, Mardan 934 cases, Mohmand 1,241 cases, Nowshera 220 cases, Swabi 400 cases, Swat five cases, Tank 304 cases, Torghar four cases and South Waziristan 229.
The report further said that 1,144 vulnerable children missed the dose in Abbottabad, 2,929 in Bajaur, 4,622 in Bannu, 639 in Batagram, 887 in Buner, 3,772 in Charsadda, 735 in Chitral Lower, 721 in Chitral Upper, 8,294 in DI Khan, 3,720 in Dir Lower, 784 in Dir Upper, 986 in Hangu, 1,422 in Haripur, 1,814 in Karak, 2,976 in Khyber, 1,539 in Kohat, 50 in Kohistan Lower, 144 in Kohistan Kohistan Upper, two in Kolaipalas, 891 in Kurram, 2,858 in Lakki Marwat, 1,266 Malakand, 2,779 in Mansehra, 3,470 in Mardan, 3,553 in Mohmand, 4,628 in Nowshera, 380 in Orakzai, 18,250 in Peshawar, 335 in Shangla, 2,625 in Swabi, 6,084 in Swat, 2,042 in Tank, 79 in Torghar, 4,589 in North Waziristan and 826 in South Waziristan.
In Peshawar as many as 903,297 children were vaccinated against the crippling polio disease. The report said that last year 20 cases of polio were reported from three southern districts of the province including 17 from North Waziristan, two from Lakki Marwat and one from South Waziristan.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 9th, 2023.
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