PHOTO: AFP
All provincial health departments, except Punjab, have missed the set goal to introduce inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) into routine immunization programme by July this year.
The federal health ministry has requested all three provincial health departments to introduce it by mid September this year in their respective Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).
The introduction of IPV in routine immunisation is a part of the Polio Eradication and Endgame Strategic Plan 2013–2018. This Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) programme was developed in consultation with other donors, health experts after directives given by the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May 2012. The aim is to have a polio free world by 2018. This is to be achieved by introducing at least one dose of IPV in the routine immunisation programme of the 126 countries currently using trivalent oral polio vaccine.
Therefore following directives the government of Pakistan has included IPV in the plan of a nine vaccine preventable diseases under the umbrella of the EPI.
A senior official at the federal EPI who wished not to be named said the federal EPI aims to introduce IPV in routine immunization nationally by Eid-ul- Fitr.
So far only the Punjab provincial health department has introduced it successfully. However the rest of the provinces are in the process to do so, said the official.
“It is a fact that in the past the government’s main focus remained on eradicating polio due to which routine immunisation was put on the back burner,” said the official.
He said now the international donor agencies like GAVI, UNICEF, WHO have increased all effort to fully support Pakistan government in its mission
Sharing the details the official said that IPV will be given as a single dose with Pentavalent III and PCV III to children of 14 weeks of age.
IPV in routine immunisation along with Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) through anti-polio drives will help to boost the child immunity against polio virus types 1 and 3.This will surely help Pakistan to reduce the number of polio cases to a great extent,” he said.
When contacted Dr Saqlain Gillani, National EPI manager, said the federal ministry is expected to launch IPV across the country on August 20.
He said the reason behind launching it with a delay is that all the provinces were busy in making the preparations. They were working on training, strengthening cold chain, capacity building of the staff among others.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 18th, 2015.
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