Polio eradication campaign: WHO to go ahead with direct payment method
It will directly pay the vaccinators instead of routing the money through the government.
KARACHI:
The prime minister has told us [the World Health Organisation] to implement the direct disbursement mechanism and make sure that the 200,000 vaccinators receive their dues, said the organisation’s senior coordinator for the polio eradication, Dr Elias Durry in response to reports on alleged corruption in the polio campaign in Baldia Town.
“This mechanism will bring transparency, efficiency and will ensure that the polio workers are not dependent on the EDO Health,” said Shahnaz Wazir Ali, the prime minister’s special assistant and national focal person on polio eradication.
When the WHO decided that it would be essential to cut out the middleman to beat corruption in its polio campaign, they introduced the direct disbursement mechanism. It would directly pay the vaccinators instead of routing the money through the government. This formula had, after all, worked beautifully in Nigeria.
What the WHO had not foreseen, however, was that the vaccinators would try to scam it.
But it surfaced recently that in Baldia Town, the Computerised National Identity Cards which the town health officer sent to the WHO for paperwork turned out to be fake.
“We have decided to make sure that all the vaccinators in the country get paid through the direct disbursement mechanism,” said Dr Durry. “We will try to make sure that every vaccinator receives the money directly. This mechanism will motivate teams too.” He added that in the polio campaign which was held in July, they had paid more than 85 per cent of the vaccinators were received the money on time.
“The WHO is trying to expand the programme on a nationwide scale to ensure that field team efforts are appreciated,” he said. “In September, 8,966 vaccinators, 852 area in charges and 204 Union Council medical officers from Vehari, Hyderabad, Charsadda, Kohat, Nowshehra, Pishin, Qillah Abdullah, Islamabad and Badin will access their payments directly. Eventually all polio workers will have access to this direct payment method.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2012.
The prime minister has told us [the World Health Organisation] to implement the direct disbursement mechanism and make sure that the 200,000 vaccinators receive their dues, said the organisation’s senior coordinator for the polio eradication, Dr Elias Durry in response to reports on alleged corruption in the polio campaign in Baldia Town.
“This mechanism will bring transparency, efficiency and will ensure that the polio workers are not dependent on the EDO Health,” said Shahnaz Wazir Ali, the prime minister’s special assistant and national focal person on polio eradication.
When the WHO decided that it would be essential to cut out the middleman to beat corruption in its polio campaign, they introduced the direct disbursement mechanism. It would directly pay the vaccinators instead of routing the money through the government. This formula had, after all, worked beautifully in Nigeria.
What the WHO had not foreseen, however, was that the vaccinators would try to scam it.
But it surfaced recently that in Baldia Town, the Computerised National Identity Cards which the town health officer sent to the WHO for paperwork turned out to be fake.
“We have decided to make sure that all the vaccinators in the country get paid through the direct disbursement mechanism,” said Dr Durry. “We will try to make sure that every vaccinator receives the money directly. This mechanism will motivate teams too.” He added that in the polio campaign which was held in July, they had paid more than 85 per cent of the vaccinators were received the money on time.
“The WHO is trying to expand the programme on a nationwide scale to ensure that field team efforts are appreciated,” he said. “In September, 8,966 vaccinators, 852 area in charges and 204 Union Council medical officers from Vehari, Hyderabad, Charsadda, Kohat, Nowshehra, Pishin, Qillah Abdullah, Islamabad and Badin will access their payments directly. Eventually all polio workers will have access to this direct payment method.”
Published in The Express Tribune, September 21st, 2012.