Public health: Inoculation drives against polio, measles this month

The health secretary stresses need for 100 per cent coverage

LAHORE:

A national immunisation campaign against polio and an anti-measles campaign will be launched in the Punjab this month.

The three-day inoculation campaign against polio will begin on January 12 and end on January 14. All arrangements for the campaign have been completed. Health Secretary Jawad Rafique Malik has stressed 100 per cent coverage in the campaign. He has directed health executive district officers to maintain close liaison with DCOs and DPOs to provide security to polio teams.

The anti-measles campaign will be conducted from January 26 to February 9 under which 28.8 million children aged six-months to 10-years will be inoculated under it.

Malik said on Friday strengthening routine immunisation under the government’s EPI programme was essential to eradicate communicable diseases.

He was chairing a meeting with EDOs at the Punjab Health Services Directorate General. Director General Dr Zahid Pervaiz; representatives of the World Health Organisation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the USAID and the UNICEF; directors of various health programmes; officers of the Punjab Health Roadmap; and health EDOs from all districts attended the meeting.

Malik directed officers to focus on routine immunisation campaigns to save children from communicable diseases. He said the department had initiated a reward and punishment system under which officials would receive encouragement and accolades for good performance, and strict action will be taken against incompetent ones.

Malik said Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had issued directions to the police inspector general to ensure foolproof security to polio teams during the campaign. He said DCOs and DPOs would be responsible for security for polio teams.

The Health secretary told EDOs, whose districts showed poor vaccine coverage and performance, to explain why they hadn’t improved the performance of their officials. EDOs whose performance was considered average were told to up their game.

The meeting also took stock of the performance of district and tehsil headquarters hospitals and health centres with regard to attendance of doctors, paramedics, availability of medicines and vaccines. The participants were informed about progress in 13 districts where a pilot project of Vaccine Logistic Information Management System (VLIMS) has been launched with help from the USAID. The Health secretary told officers to ensure implementation of the chief minister’s roadmap for health.

In Rajanpur

DCO Ghazi Amanullah presided over a meeting on Friday to review arrangements for the anti-polio drive. As many as 300,000 children under the age of five years will be vaccinated in the district.

Amanullah said the district administration will cooperate with teams of the Health Department. Police have been instructed to ensure security for the teams, he said.

The DCO said 969 polio teams will go door-to-door to administer polio vaccine to children. He urged citizens to cooperate with polio teams and make the drive a success.

In Jhang

Acting DCO Babar Bashir said 44,4842 children in the district would be vaccinated during the anti-polio drive. He said strict action would be taken against anyone found negligent in performing duties. He said assistant commissioners would supervise the campaign.

Health EDO Dr Zafar Abbas said 1,005 mobile teams of the Health Department would go door-to-door in four tehsils to vaccinate children.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 10^th, 2015.