A large number of officials and public representatives attended the session at Khayaban-e-Sir Syed where District Coordination Officer Sajid Zafar Dal presided.
Executive District Officer (EDO) Health Dr Khalid Randhawa regretted that Pakistan was among the only three countries in the world where the poliovirus is present.
He asked community representatives to contribute in securing a good future for the next generations by raising awareness of the crippling disease in their communities.
The EDO also removed some misunderstandings about polio vaccination and answered queries of participants.
He said religious leaders of all schools of thought have unanimously issued fatwas stating that there is no harm or hidden design in the polio drops.
He said the drops had no effect on reproductive health of people. “It is our collective responsibility to remove these misunderstandings existing among some segments of society,” said Randhawa.
He said the polio cases dropped from around 3,000 every year during the 1990s to 25 in recent years but this year has witnessed an alarming surge in the number cases with almost 300 reported so far. He said the government was targeting to eliminate the disease from the country by 2015.
“This is a battle of our survival. Those who refuse polio drops to their children have no right to ask questions about the performance of the government,” he said.
A documentary was also screened for the participants.
“We have invited them (locals) to give them respect and a sense of responsibility,” said district supervisor of the polio vaccination campaign Chaudhry Muhammad Hussain.
Rawalpindi Resident Hanif Khan appealed to his community members to cooperate with polio teams and ensure that no child is left out during the vaccination campaign. He assured district authorities of full support in the future.
The DCO told The Express Tribune that the anti-polio campaign would be intensified over the next six months as recent environmental samples had indicated a need for it.
“We will make Pukhtun representatives a part of the union council polio eradication committees and District Polio Eradication Committee in 28 high risk areas along Leh which are dominated by ethnic group,” he said, adding that “We have also decided to arrange a grand jirga in December to mobilise the community.”
A five-day polio eradication drive starts in the district on December 8.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 6th, 2014.
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