PPA conference: ‘One paediatrician for 55,000 children’
Routine polio vaccination has declined from 94% in the early 1990s to approximately 30% or so.
October 31, 2012
KARACHI:
Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) President Prof Mohammad Iqbal Memon has pointed out that routine polio vaccination has declined from 94% in the early 1990s to approximately 30% or so. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, the senior child specialist said the country’s inability to get rid of the crippling disease, coupled with a decline in immunisation coverage of other vaccine preventable diseases, has aggravated mortality rates among the under-15 population, which constitutes 45% of the total population. In reply to a question, he said there are around 4,000 paediatricians in the country, including 2,000 who are registered members of PPA. “This is in a scenario where there are 55 million under-15 children, with one paediatrician catering to the health needs of 55,000 children,” he said.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2012.
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