World Polio Day: UNICEF, health dept organise workshop

"Pakistan is among three countries where polio remains endemic," says UNICEF representative.

PESHAWAR:

World Polio Day was celebrated on Wednesday by the K-P Health Department in collaboration with the Unicef.

The health department held a workshop to increase the capacity of journalists on polio reporting after the dreaded disease was declared an emergency by the government.

Senator Rubina Khalid and senior K-P Minister Rahimdad Khan was the chief guest, while Deputy Director on Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Dr Jan Baz Afridi, representatives of partner organisations, including Unicef and WHO, also participated.

Addressing the participants, Afridi said that the number of polio cases in K-P and Fata have increased in 2011 as compared to the past two years because of inaccessibility of certain areas and vaccination refusal cases.

Abdul Jamil, a representative of Unicef, said Pakistan is among three countries where polio remains endemic. The others countries are Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2012.