LHWs allegedly axed for demanding security

The lady health workers engaged in the polio drive in Dadu district have blamed the deputy commissioner and district health officer for trying to silence them when they demand security during the campaigns and their rights. The LHWs on Tuesday organized a protest rally to condemn the suspension of their supervisor Noor Bano Mallah because she had demanded security and rights for the polio workers.

The protesters, led by Noor Bano Mallah, Fatima Mallah, Sardar Begum, Mukhtiar Brohi and Hawa Khatoon, maintained that not only the supervisor was removed another 150 LHWs were excluded for the campaign by a health official. "The female area in-charges and UCMOs were removed and replaced with male area in-charges and UCMOs," Mallah claimed. "The removed LHWs were replaced by the nephews and relatives of Dr Ahmed Bux Chandio [a health official] for polio duty."

The protesters denounced that the polio program has been turned into a hub of corruption and malpractice, blaming the DC Dadu Murtaza Shah and the DHO Dr Imdad Hussain Shah for harassing the workers.