Pakistan

No birth certificate or school admission for unvaccinated children

Move taken in light of growing cases of polio and measles across Pakistan.

Web Desk January 28, 2013

A Pakistani health worker administers polio vaccine drops to a young child at a polio vaccination center in Karachi. PHOTO: AFP/FILE

LAHORE: Parents who do not have proof of having their children vaccinated against polio and measles will not be issued birth certificates, ruled the City Government of Lahore on Monday, Express News reported.

Heading a meeting, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Lahore, Noorul Ameen Mengal issued directives in this regard to all union councils in the city.

Furthermore, Mengal said that if parents fail to produce vaccination cards at the time of school admission, their children would not be admitted to government schools.

The measures were taken in light of growing cases of polio and measles.

The DCO said that an awareness campaign will be launched throughout Punjab. The campaign will only be implemented in Lahore and if successful, it will be implemented throughout the province, he said.

Pakistan had 20,000 polio cases in 1994, a number which has been reduced to just 56 in 2012, after years of vigorous vaccination efforts.