The Expanded Programme for Immunisation (EPI) has completed data quality assessment (DQA) in 12 selected districts of Punjab to evaluate the accuracy of statistics and other relevant information across all tiers.
The assessment has been carried out after two years in collaboration with the World Health Organisation in view of the importance of data for ensuring hundred per cent immunisation of young children.
Children under two years of age are vaccinated against 12 fatal diseases free of charge in Punjab as per WHO guidelines.
Presiding over a meeting on Monday, Caretaker Punjab Minister for Primary and Secondary Healthcare Dr Jamal Nasir said healthy upbringing of the children could only be guaranteed through real-time immunisation.
He said a system had been devised to identify officials who submitted bogus figures with regard to immunization, adding that the vaccinators who provided false data and were found negligent would be dealt with severely.
Action would also be taken against the parents who would not get the particulars of their offspring registered without getting them immunised, he warned.
Teams of experts had visited the Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan, Kasur, Okara, Jhang, Sargodha, Sialkot, Bahawalnagar and Muzaffargarh districts for the data assessment.
The exercise was conducted to identify gaps in different programmatic areas, assess needs and suggest remedial measures through execution of an improvement plan.
As a result of the process, various issues in the vaccination system have been identified to improve data collection.
The assessors included experts from the WHO and UNICEF, as well as senior government officials.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 22nd, 2023.
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