Polio vaccination drive faces resistance in parts of Bannu

In Ghura Bakhail, around 30% of children still need to be vaccinated

PESHAWAR:

In Ghura Bakhail, Bannu district, where three polio cases were detected recently, around 30 per cent of children still need to be vaccinated.

This was revealed at a meeting titled ‘Reaching the Unreached’ held under the chairmanship of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Minister Qasim Ali Shah and under the auspices of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) and the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI).

The briefing, organised by ACASUS, focused on collaboration efforts in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Attending the meeting were Special Secretary, Health for Polio Eradication Abdul Basit, Health Services Director General Dr Shaukat Ali, Provincial Emergency Operations Centre Director General Zeeshan, and personnel from all district Emergency Operation Centres who participated online.

Minister Qasim Shah highlighted the significant responsibility that fell on parents of unvaccinated children whose unwillingness, he said, to allow vaccination of their children was a consequence of insufficient awareness and posed a risk to the entire nation. He stated that it was imperative to avoid international sanctions due to such negligence.

The federal government will be engaged in discussions regarding these issues, he observed. Qasim Shah added that access to remote areas in southern districts was crucial and necessitated the resolution of every possible challenge.

The health minister emphasized that the ongoing drive was the third phase of a special campaign to ensure the vaccination of unvaccinated children. He was informed that, in 69 Union Councils in the province, children under five received 12 vaccines, including the oral polio vaccine, to prevent vaccine-preventable diseases. He was also told that the situation in Ghura Bakhail presented a challenge that was being addressed under these campaigns.

Additionally, ACASUS briefed the minister on the collaboration initiatives in K-P. Also attending the meeting were EPI Director Dr Aarif, Public Health Director Dr Irshad Roghani and other relevant officials including Project Manager Zara Ansari, Senior Associate Tuba Hatif Farooqi, Umair Rashid and Sophia Ahmed.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2024.