Anti-polio drive: Campaign underway in Swat

“Security is being provided to our team by the police and security forces,” says an EPI staff member.

MINGORA: An anti-polio campaign is underway across Swat district amid tight security. The campaign began on April 15 and is expected to conclude today (Thursday). It aims to immunise 408,000 children under the age of five, said officials. “This is the third time during the last two months that polio vaccines are being administered in Swat valley because some polio cases surfaced in the surrounding districts,” Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Coordinator Dr Rehmat Elahi told The Express Tribune. The anti-polio drive is being monitored and supervised by the district administration and about 225 supervisors are leading 1,202 teams across the district. “Security is being provided to our team by the police and security forces,” explained one EPI staff member. Women vaccination teams are so far satisfied with security arrangements in rural parts of the valley. “We were a little scared to go to the hilly and remote areas to administer polio drops at first. However, we faced no hurdles,” said a teacher who is part of one of the polio teams.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2013.