‘Most polio workers uneducated and untrained’

Over 700,000 children vaccinated in Peshawar district.

PESHAWAR:

Most polio workers are uneducated and untrained, claimed an official while talking about the day-long vaccination drive in Peshawar district. Around 700,000 children were inoculated by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Expanded Program on Immunisation (EPI) on Sunday.

The official, requesting anonymity, said workers at various permanent transit points of the city were untrained. He added most of them were either uneducated or had only completed their matriculation at best.




He urged the government and international health organisations to appoint highly qualified workers who were trained to vaccinate children against the crippling disease. The official stressed many of the current vaccinators lacked the basic knowledge needed to immunise children and were therefore unable to convince parents.

The drive

Talking to The Express Tribune, District Polio Control Room Focal Person Dr Saleem Khan shared 4,430 teams worked across 97 union councils of Peshawar district. He said the target was 754,000 children, but some of them were unable to take the drops as they were not accessible.

Khan said complete security was provided to the workers and no untoward incident was reported.

Speaking about the concerns over illiterate polio workers, Khan admitted people had raised such objections. However, he claimed authorities had taken action and replaced them by the time the campaign started.

The doctor highlighted all polio workers were trained and qualified as per requirements. He said their work was only for a day and they fulfilled their duties.

The doctor said workers underwent three days of training ahead of the campaign, adding people who understood immunisation of children and were familiar with locals were chosen for the task.

Over 220 cases were reported in the country this year, making Pakistan the largest contributor out of the three remaining endemic countries in the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2014.