WHO says satisfied with anti-polio drive

Pindi’s next week-long vaccination campaign in Jan

RAWALPINDI:

A quality assessment survey by the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found satisfactory the results of a seven-day anti-polio campaign in the Rawalpindi district.

The district health authority (DHA) had earlier said the campaign from November 27 to December 3 crossed its target of vaccinating one million children against polio, with the WHO audit confirming the results.

As part of continuing its efforts against polio, the DHA said it would launch another seven-day anti-polio campaign from January 8. The latest campaign also targets vaccinating one million children.

An official said the department’s priority was to vaccinate children at all entrance points of Rawalpindi to prevent future cases of the debilitating disease.

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Meanwhile, three environmental samples of poliovirus also came back negative.

In order to confirm the presence of polio virus, environmental samples were obtained from three places, Sarai Kala, Safdarabad, and Dhok Dalal, the results of which have been confirmed as negative.

DHA official Dr Ehsan Ghani hailed the results of the anti-polio campaign as encouraging, “including the negative results of samples collected from various locations”.

Dr Ghani added that a public awareness campaign regarding polio was also part of the drive.

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries in the world where the disease — which causes crippling paralysis — is still endemic.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 14^th, 2023.