Battling the disease: Governor lauds polio workers after IMB report

Cases have fallen by 86% compared to same time last year, says official communiqué

PESHAWAR: Governor Sardar Mehtab Ahmad Khan lauded the achievements of polio workers in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

The governor’s pat on the back came on the coattails of an Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) report which commended their successful efforts, stating polio cases had fallen by 86% in the tribal areas.

A meeting of the IMB, an international body monitoring polio eradication, was held in Abu Dhabi where representatives of all four provinces and tribal areas were invited to discuss issues related to polio eradication. This was stated in an official handout issued by the Governor House on Sunday.

It read a detailed session was held to talk about polio eradication in Fata besides a discussion on facts gathered by various independent sources.

Accessibility and eradication

The meeting lauded the fact accessibility has improved by 56% overall during the last six months. The handout stated accessibility improved in Khyber, South Waziristan and North Waziristan agencies by 71%, 21% and 50%, respectively. It said the administration conducted door-to-door campaigns in South Waziristan, Frontier Region Bannu, Bara in Khyber Agency and parts of North Waziristan.

From January to April 2014, there were 45 cases of polio reported from Fata, while in the same period in 2015, only six cases have been confirmed, stated the handout. It added that amounted to a reduction of 86%.

It added that currently 15,786 (2% of the total target) children were missed and efforts were under way to reach them as well. The number of refusals in Fata was 818, which is 0.104% of the target. The document said refusals had nothing to do with ideology or social norms. The board acknowledged threats were issued by militants, but most people simply disregarded them after military operations in various tribal areas.

The governor directed officials to devise a quick and efficient mechanism for the early payment of honoraria to these frontline polio workers.

Sehat ka Ittehad

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa health department has announced a polio campaign under the ‘Sehat Ka Ittehad’ banner in eleven districts of the province.

The drive will take place in Bannu, Charsadda, DI Khan, Hangu, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Mardan, Nowshera, Swabi, Tank and Torghar, read a notification issued on Sunday.

It said 448 union councils of 11 districts would be targeted during the campaign and 2,176,318 children under the age of five would be inoculated against poliovirus. It added 5,858 mobile and 580 fixed teams were deputed, while 307 transit points had also been established.

Sehat ka Ittehad is a joint venture of the provincial and federal government which was launched in January 2015. The aim of the campaign is to vaccinate children against nine preventable diseases such as diphtheria, tetanus, tuberculosis, pertussis, polio, meningitis, hepatitis B, influenza and measles. It will span K-P and the tribal areas.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 18^th, 2015.