Anti-polio drive kicks off in Pindi

As many as 906,011 children under five years of age will be vaccinated against polio during a week-long campaign that will commence in the three tehsils of the Rawalpindi district on April 29.

District Health Authority (DHA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Ejaz Ahmed, said children will be vaccinated in the areas of Rawalpindi City, Cantonment, Tehsil Rawalpindi (Rural), Gujar Khan, and Taxila.

The campaign has mobilised 2,834 mobile teams, 677 area in-charges and 192 Union Council medical officers will participate in the drive to complete the immunisation task.

In addition, 269 fix centres have been set up to administer the drops. Anti-polio drops will also be administered at 125 transit points while teams have also been deputed at toll plazas so that no child will miss immunisation.

DHA District Superintendent of Vaccination Dr Muhammad Nadeem said that the objective of regularly conducting anti-polio campaigns was to increase children’s immunity and to keep them safe through protective drops.

He urged the citizens, particularly the parents, to come forward and play their role in eliminating the crippling disease from society. “The parents should cooperate with Special to achieve the set target,” he added.

Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner, Hasan Waqar Cheema, directed the officials of the health authority to perform their duty as a national responsibility, adding that no negligence would be tolerated during the campaign.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2024.