‘Investing in children is investing in the future of Pakistan’

PTI chief Imran claims teachers have agreed to participate in future polio drives

PESHAWAR: After successful deliberations, teachers have agreed to take part in the polio campaign, claimed Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan.

Imran said this on Saturday as he launched ‘Sehat ka Insaf’– an awareness programme worth Rs20 billion to improve the status of children’s health in Peshawar.

Around 12,500 PTI volunteers, known as the Insaf Sehat Razakars, will carry out the drive in Peshawar district and will immunise 0.5 million children against nine paediatric diseases.  Later, these razakars will cover other districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) as well.

During a news briefing at a hotel, Imran said for PTI, investing in the health of children is investing in the future of Pakistan.

“Today we take responsibility to provide healthcare as a right to our children and ensure they are protected from diseases which are preventable,” he said.

Imran claimed the programme is the largest child health campaign in the country and Rs20 billion has been allocated for it. In the first phase, Sehat ka Insaf will cover 30,000 houses in Peshawar.

He explained volunteers will raise awareness against nine diseases, including polio, dengue, measles, pneumonia, diarrhoea, tuberculosis, and whooping cough.

The first three-month campaign for Peshawar will start in February – volunteers will distribute Insaf Sehat Kits from door-to-door. He said the kits will include soap, water-cleaning tablets, and containers for drinking water.

An aggressive door-to-door dengue awareness campaign will also be conducted during the three months in which special material will be distributed at 30,000 houses in Peshawar.

Imran claimed the health administration will cooperate with these volunteers and will provide them security.