A crippling region
K-P recorded 10 polio cases, FATA 59, while 17 lost their lives in attacks on vaccination teams.
A policeman stands guard as female polio workers give vaccine drops to children. PHOTO: SHAFIQ MALIK
PESHAWAR:
There were more cases of polio from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) last year than that reported from the whole country in 2012.
Of the 82 cases reported in Pakistan in 2013, at least 10 polio cases were reported from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), while 59 were from Fata. North Waziristan and Khyber Agency reported the highest number of cases, 31 and 18, respectively. In 2012, 58 cases were reported from the entire country.
Security for immunisation teams remained one of the crucial problems plaguing the province, with 17 vaccinators and security personnel killed in attacks on vaccination teams in various parts of K-P.
In the latest of such attacks, on December 28, the supervisor of an immunisation drive Zahir Gul was gunned down by unidentified assailants in his office in Civil Hospital Mattani.
A total of Rs96 million was spent on polio campaigns and nearly 95% of children in 25 districts of K-P were vaccinated, said K-P Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Spokesperson Dr Kaleemullah Khan.
Military operations and clashes in the tribal areas have only made it harder to stem the virus, Minister of State for Health Saira Afzal Tarar told The Express Tribune. “With the year ahead, it all depends on the government in K-P and the level of interest public officials show in the matter,” she said.
“In 2014, we will bargain with stakeholders in Fata and will get access for immunisation teams,” Tarar contended.
K-P EPI Director Janbaz Afridi said the ban imposed in North and South Waziristan agencies in June 2012 by the Taliban has deprived over 250,000 children from receiving polio vaccines.
Measles
The year was spotted with measles with 800 confirmed cases and 9,300 suspected cases of the disease reported in the province, according to EPI Assistant Director Dr Farid Bangash.
In the beginning of the year, an outbreak across Dir and the tribal belt claimed over 100 lives.
Dengue outbreak
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa faced its worst dengue outbreak to date with Swat bearing the brunt of the fever. According to unofficial figures 63 people died from the disease. The district health office, however, confirmed 37 deaths.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2014.
There were more cases of polio from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) last year than that reported from the whole country in 2012.
Of the 82 cases reported in Pakistan in 2013, at least 10 polio cases were reported from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), while 59 were from Fata. North Waziristan and Khyber Agency reported the highest number of cases, 31 and 18, respectively. In 2012, 58 cases were reported from the entire country.
Security for immunisation teams remained one of the crucial problems plaguing the province, with 17 vaccinators and security personnel killed in attacks on vaccination teams in various parts of K-P.
In the latest of such attacks, on December 28, the supervisor of an immunisation drive Zahir Gul was gunned down by unidentified assailants in his office in Civil Hospital Mattani.
A total of Rs96 million was spent on polio campaigns and nearly 95% of children in 25 districts of K-P were vaccinated, said K-P Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Spokesperson Dr Kaleemullah Khan.
Military operations and clashes in the tribal areas have only made it harder to stem the virus, Minister of State for Health Saira Afzal Tarar told The Express Tribune. “With the year ahead, it all depends on the government in K-P and the level of interest public officials show in the matter,” she said.
“In 2014, we will bargain with stakeholders in Fata and will get access for immunisation teams,” Tarar contended.
K-P EPI Director Janbaz Afridi said the ban imposed in North and South Waziristan agencies in June 2012 by the Taliban has deprived over 250,000 children from receiving polio vaccines.
Measles
The year was spotted with measles with 800 confirmed cases and 9,300 suspected cases of the disease reported in the province, according to EPI Assistant Director Dr Farid Bangash.
In the beginning of the year, an outbreak across Dir and the tribal belt claimed over 100 lives.
Dengue outbreak
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa faced its worst dengue outbreak to date with Swat bearing the brunt of the fever. According to unofficial figures 63 people died from the disease. The district health office, however, confirmed 37 deaths.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 1st, 2014.