Officials submitting fake polio data face action

Five staffers serving in Rawalpindi suspended

LAHORE:

The Punjab Provincial Task Force on Polio Eradication decided on Monday to take stern action against staff members submitting fake data.

Caretaker Primary Healthcare Minister Dr Jamal Nasir said during a meeting of the task force that that five polio team officials serving in Rawalpindi had been suspended for submitting fake data and an inquiry was being conducted against them.

Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman said a special campaign to administer polio vaccine to 22 million children in the province would continue from November 27 to December 1. He said eradication of polio was a national agenda, adding that all deputy commissioners must work on a priority basis for the purpose.

He issued instructions for action against the staff in the areas where polio drops could not be administered to the children.

The chief secretary said a child who missed the polio vaccine became a source of concern for the whole world.

He said all deputy commissioners should ensure reporting of correct data, warning that fake data was not acceptable in any circumstances.

The official called for special steps to cover the children missed in vaccination campaigns.

The task force decided to call a special meeting to review the cases of missed children in Lahore.

Officials of the health department informed the participants that five polio cases had been reported in Pakistan this year -- three from Karachi and two from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

They said all environmental samples from Punjab had been found negative for poliovirus.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^st, 2023.