Campaign chaos: Polio drive hits snags again
The four-day drive had aimed to target nearly 800,000 children in 86 union councils of the city
KARACHI:
The four-day anti-polio drive failed to start on Monday in several parts of the city after the polio workers announced a boycott due to unpaid dues and a lack of security.
Before the start of the campaign, the officials said nearly 800,000 children were to be inoculated against polio in 86 union councils of Karachi with the help of over 1,700 volunteer teams. Police escort had also been promised for the protection of the health workers, volunteers and citizens during the campaign.
However, the government officials' lack of preparations was apparent on the very first day of the drive. Dr Mazhar Khamisani, the director of Sindh Expanded Programme on Immunisation, was oblivious to the campaign's status for the day when approached by The Express Tribune till late evening.
"We only know that the campaign was hampered in several areas of the city due to the absence of the security and police escort," said Dr Khamisani. "The affected areas are not in my knowledge yet, except for a couple of UCs in Landhi."
The health workers' teams told The Express Tribune that they could not dare to venture into Orangi Town's union council (UC)-4 and Site Town's UCs 6 and 7 in the face of a law and order situation that prevailed since the murder of Awami National Party's leader Dr Ziauddin on Sunday evening. "Instead of offering escort, the police personnel suggested the teams visit the affected areas tomorrow," said a polio worker, Safia Rasheed.
Meanwhile, the polio workers in North Nazimabad boycotted the campaign claiming that they were not paid for their past participation in the campaigns as per commitment. Later, the volunteers gathered to stage a protest in Nusrat Bhutto Colony where the district Central administration successfully negotiated with them to resume work.
"The concerns of the polio workers were relayed to the representatives of the World Health Organisation, which is responsible for their remunerations," said deputy commissioner Dr Saifur Rehman. "We have received this assurance that all outstanding dues will be disbursed to the volunteers' accounts in a couple of days."
The issue was, however, not limited to North Nazimabad Town. "A majority of the polio-workers have yet to receive the complete remuneration for the last three rounds of the campaigns," said Farhat Sultana, a lady health supervisor who has been working with the polio immunisation programme since 1994.
"Our volunteers face all kinds of abuses and threats and even give their lives in the line of duty, but the government fails to pay the paltry remuneration on time, let alone the high salaries and perks that those people get who are working for the international agencies," she complained.
Currently supervising the teams in Baldia Town, Sultana explained that each of the periodic four-day campaigns makes a polio-worker earn Rs8,000 in total for covering around 400 to 600 houses in a designated area.
An official of the WHO told The Express Tribune that the polio workers claiming outstanding dues have failed to furnish their complete credentials for the disbursement of payments. "The computerised process of payments requires a bank account as well as a valid National Identification Card number," he said. "All outstanding dues will be released as soon as the required details are submitted and subsequently verified."
Published in The Express Tribune, November 25th, 2014.
The four-day anti-polio drive failed to start on Monday in several parts of the city after the polio workers announced a boycott due to unpaid dues and a lack of security.
Before the start of the campaign, the officials said nearly 800,000 children were to be inoculated against polio in 86 union councils of Karachi with the help of over 1,700 volunteer teams. Police escort had also been promised for the protection of the health workers, volunteers and citizens during the campaign.
However, the government officials' lack of preparations was apparent on the very first day of the drive. Dr Mazhar Khamisani, the director of Sindh Expanded Programme on Immunisation, was oblivious to the campaign's status for the day when approached by The Express Tribune till late evening.
"We only know that the campaign was hampered in several areas of the city due to the absence of the security and police escort," said Dr Khamisani. "The affected areas are not in my knowledge yet, except for a couple of UCs in Landhi."
The health workers' teams told The Express Tribune that they could not dare to venture into Orangi Town's union council (UC)-4 and Site Town's UCs 6 and 7 in the face of a law and order situation that prevailed since the murder of Awami National Party's leader Dr Ziauddin on Sunday evening. "Instead of offering escort, the police personnel suggested the teams visit the affected areas tomorrow," said a polio worker, Safia Rasheed.
Meanwhile, the polio workers in North Nazimabad boycotted the campaign claiming that they were not paid for their past participation in the campaigns as per commitment. Later, the volunteers gathered to stage a protest in Nusrat Bhutto Colony where the district Central administration successfully negotiated with them to resume work.
"The concerns of the polio workers were relayed to the representatives of the World Health Organisation, which is responsible for their remunerations," said deputy commissioner Dr Saifur Rehman. "We have received this assurance that all outstanding dues will be disbursed to the volunteers' accounts in a couple of days."
The issue was, however, not limited to North Nazimabad Town. "A majority of the polio-workers have yet to receive the complete remuneration for the last three rounds of the campaigns," said Farhat Sultana, a lady health supervisor who has been working with the polio immunisation programme since 1994.
"Our volunteers face all kinds of abuses and threats and even give their lives in the line of duty, but the government fails to pay the paltry remuneration on time, let alone the high salaries and perks that those people get who are working for the international agencies," she complained.
Currently supervising the teams in Baldia Town, Sultana explained that each of the periodic four-day campaigns makes a polio-worker earn Rs8,000 in total for covering around 400 to 600 houses in a designated area.
An official of the WHO told The Express Tribune that the polio workers claiming outstanding dues have failed to furnish their complete credentials for the disbursement of payments. "The computerised process of payments requires a bank account as well as a valid National Identification Card number," he said. "All outstanding dues will be released as soon as the required details are submitted and subsequently verified."
Published in The Express Tribune, November 25th, 2014.