Audit report: Lack of accountability affecting polio campaign
Poor training of vaccinators, misuse of transportation support among reasons .
The report mentioned various issues relating to poor management and a lack of transparency that ultimately resulted in a rise in polio cases in 2011. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Mismanagement and a lack of accountability led to an increase in the number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2011. This was stated in the National Emergency Action Plan for Polio Eradication’s (NEAPPE) performance audit report 2011-2013.
The report, which was shared with The Express Tribune, said 198 polio cases were reported in 2011, where Quetta, Qila Abdullah and Pishin in Balochistan and high risk areas of Karachi accounted for nearly two thirds of all cases.
In 2011, NEAPPE was drafted and approved by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, provincial chief ministers, governor Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and prime minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir before it was launched by President Asif Ali Zardari.
The report mentioned various issues relating to poor management and a lack of transparency that ultimately resulted in a rise in polio cases in 2011.
Among these were an inadequate number of vaccination teams, inappropriate selection and poor training of vaccinators, misuse of transportation support provided for teams and supervisors, and no punishments for sub-optimal performances.
Interventions at the district and sub-district levels and coordinated efforts by the political and administrative leadership, if any, were weak and had thus far failed to improve the situation, said the report.
The plan was augmented for 2012 with a focus on enhancing oversight at the national, provincial and district levels.
This resulted in a 70 per cent decrease in the number of polio cases in 2012 as compared to the previous year.
Despite this, the last national anti-polio campaign held in 2012 in October missed around one million children across the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2013.
Mismanagement and a lack of accountability led to an increase in the number of polio cases in Pakistan in 2011. This was stated in the National Emergency Action Plan for Polio Eradication’s (NEAPPE) performance audit report 2011-2013.
The report, which was shared with The Express Tribune, said 198 polio cases were reported in 2011, where Quetta, Qila Abdullah and Pishin in Balochistan and high risk areas of Karachi accounted for nearly two thirds of all cases.
In 2011, NEAPPE was drafted and approved by former prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, provincial chief ministers, governor Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and prime minister Azad Jammu and Kashmir before it was launched by President Asif Ali Zardari.
The report mentioned various issues relating to poor management and a lack of transparency that ultimately resulted in a rise in polio cases in 2011.
Among these were an inadequate number of vaccination teams, inappropriate selection and poor training of vaccinators, misuse of transportation support provided for teams and supervisors, and no punishments for sub-optimal performances.
Interventions at the district and sub-district levels and coordinated efforts by the political and administrative leadership, if any, were weak and had thus far failed to improve the situation, said the report.
The plan was augmented for 2012 with a focus on enhancing oversight at the national, provincial and district levels.
This resulted in a 70 per cent decrease in the number of polio cases in 2012 as compared to the previous year.
Despite this, the last national anti-polio campaign held in 2012 in October missed around one million children across the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2013.