Immunisation campaign kicks-off across the tribal belt with the exception of North Waziristan, areas of FR Bannu. PHOTO: FILE
Around 100 health workers boycotted a polio drive for two hours on Monday in Landikotal, Khyber Agency, demanding their salaries for the last five vaccination drives.
According to Tali Muhammad, a polio supervisor in Landikotal tehsil, the drive was spread across 21 union councils for the purpose of better management. Around 243 polio workers participated, supervised by 21 area in charge officers.
However, right around the time the drive was meant to kick-off in the morning, at least 100 workers in union councils Loye Shilman 1, 2, 3, 4 and Sultankhel 1, 2, and 4, refused to administer vaccines, revealed Muhammad.
He confirmed the protesters wanted to raise the issue of salaries pending from the past five drives and that they vowed to continue the boycott till the time they are paid. The supervisor added the polio workers called off the boycott when officials from the Federally Administered Tribal Areas’ health department promised their salaries will be released before the next polio drive is initiated.
Battle continues
A polio drive will take place across the tribal belt with the exception of North Waziristan Agency and parts of Frontier Region Bannu.
FATA Secretariat Additional Chief Secretary Arbab Muhammad Arif and officials of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) talked in broad strokes about the vaccination campaign.
Speaking at the FATA Secretariat, Arif revealed the government and its partner organisations will make efforts to access every child below the age of five in the region. He added no such campaign has been carried out in North Waziristan Agency due to a ban imposed by the Taliban in June 2012, which is why thousands of children have not been protected against the polio virus.
An official at EPI’s Fata chapter shared a total of 712,985 children will be administered polio drops. To meet said target, 2,638 teams, comprising teachers and health workers have been constituted. The official also revealed that 800 cases of refusal had been reported during previous such campaigns in the region.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2014.
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