Vaccine wastage: Low-ranking officials made scapegoats

Vaccines worth $1.3million spoilt due to improper storage.

ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health (NIH) seems to be making scapegoats of two lower-cadre staffers in the loss of pentavalent vaccines worth $1.3 million. The medication had been donated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI).

The pentavalent vaccines, which protect against five diseases, spoilt because they were not stored at the proper temperature. Though an inquiry is still under way, the initial findings suggest lack of supervision and monitoring was responsible.

NIH, instead of holding the senior officials accountable, has suspended a sub-engineer and a storekeeper.

Officials also raised questions over the continued absence of Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Deputy Programme Manager Dr Saveeta Vankwani during the inquiry. Vankwani is the wife of PML-N MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar.

“So far, no action has been taken against the senior officials responsible for supervising and monitoring the cold chain,” said an NIH official, who requested not to be named. He said Dr Vankwani has been in Karachi for the last two weeks.

Dr Vankwani said she was in Karachi to look after her mother, who was injured in a road accident. She said she would be back in a day or two.

EPI National Programme Manager Dr Saqlain Ahmad Gilani said that only 35 per cent of the vaccines — or 1.3 million doses — had spoilt due to fluctuation in temperature.

He said GAVI had donated vaccines worth $3.9 million six months ago.

Gilani said the report will be made public once the inquiry is complete. The Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination is conducting the inquiry.

The pentavalent vaccine protects children against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, hepatitis B, meningitis and pneumonia.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 11^th, 2015.