Anti-polio drive: Govt backs direct payment for volunteers

WHO successfully made direct payments to 14,000 health workers in 10 different districts last year.


Sehrish Wasif September 16, 2012

ISLAMABAD:


In an effort to weed out alleged corruption in the polio eradication programme, the federal government on Saturday endorsed the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) direct disbursement mechanism (DDM), ensuring transparent payments to hundreds of thousands of anti-polio workers in the country.


Sources working in the Prime Minister’s Polio Cell said that during the last polio eradication campaign, WHO had successfully made direct payments to 14,000 health workers in 10 different districts across the country through the banking channels.

At present, they said, 250,000 health workers are working for the campaign across the country and are paid Rs 1,000 per campaign. Their payments are currently made into the account of the executive district officer of their respective district, which lacks an accountability mechanism.

Sources said this was acknowledged at Saturday’s high-level meeting chaired by Shahnaz Wazir Ali, special assistant to the prime minister. Dr Hussein al Gezairy, a top official working as a special adviser on polio to WHO, also attended the meeting. They discussed various steps for eradicating the disease in the country.

“The role of WHO is very valuable for fighting polio and Pakistan acknowledges the contribution of its teams working in the country,” Shahnaz said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16th, 2012.

COMMENTS (1)

Tribal Insafian | 11 years ago | Reply

Good step. Now ensure it plz

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