WHO experts said Islamabad has been polio-free since 2008 but the present poor performance and constant influx of population from Peshawar and Rawalpindi has intensified the risk for Islamabad.
ISLAMABAD:
The capital’s Sector I-11, which houses katchi abadis where displaced persons from various conflict-hit areas also reside, has been marked as sensitive for the ongoing anti-polio programme. The decision came after polio workers complained of accessibility issues in the area.
The decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Minster for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar and attended by officials of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Capital Development Authority (CDA), World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef, according to a press release, .
Dr Altaf Bosan, the national technical focal person, told members that the quality of Islamabad’s polio campaign is unsatisfactory, therefore, health experts have decided to collect sewage samples of the high-risk area of Sector I-11 for the environmental surveillance of polio virus.
WHO experts said Islamabad has been polio-free since 2008 but the present poor performance and constant influx of population from Peshawar and Rawalpindi has intensified the risk for Islamabad.
Participants were informed that CDA has established five permanent transit points for polio vaccination but the ICT has yet to establish permanent polio transit points to vaccinate children on-the-move.
Discussing the vaccination of children at check-points, CDA and ICT administration flagged the issue of non-cooperation of the Motorway Police with polio teams. Islamabad’s chief commissioner proposed a pilot cooperation plan with Islamabad Traffic Police to ensure compulsory immunisation for all children crossing checkpoints in the capital.
In the meeting it was suggested to establish a joint control room by CDA and ICT to monitor the campaign and get real-time data. Tarar expressed grave concern over administrative lapses and governance issues in Islamabad.
She ordered for an immediate mapping of the city’s population to identify high-risk areas. She stressed for increasing coordination between ICT and CDA to make Islamabad a model city in terms of polio vaccination coverage.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 10th, 2013.
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