Unfinished business: PIMA laments decrease in immunisation

Dr Misbahul Aziz points out measles coverage has dropped from 86% to 60% in a few years.

KARACHI:

The central president of Pakistan Islamic Medical Association (PIMA), Dr Misbahul Aziz, in a statement released on Wednesday, expressed his concerns about the decrease in immunisation of children against preventable diseases.

While quoting from records of Expanded Programme on Immunisation, Aziz pointed out that measles coverage, which used to 86 per cent a few years back, has now dropped to 60 per cent. “We need to take foolproof measures to ensure that children below the ages of five are vaccinated against measles, the third most common disease in the country,” he stressed. In the statement, he also urged that healthcare agencies be made more accountable.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2013.