Polio drive in Rahim Yar Khan this month

BAHAWALPUR:

A polio vaccination campaign in Rahim Yar Khan district will be conducted from September 14 to September 16, Extended Programme on Immunisation Coordinator Mufakir Mian said at a meeting of the district polio eradication committee on Wednesday.

Mian said they had set a target of vaccinating more than 839,000 children under the age of five years in the district. He said 1,644 mobile teams will go door to door to vaccinate children.

Finance and Planning EDO Chaudhry Muhammad Rafi said the Anti-Polio Drive was a national cause and everyone would have to work together to make it successful.  “All segments of the society can play a positive role in this regard…we need to secure our future generations from this debilitating disease.”

The participants of the meeting decided that vaccination teams will be deployed at bus stands and health centres. The teams will be supervised the area in-charge, union council medical officers, teachers and staff of other departments.

Rahim Yar Khan Health District Officer Dr Hassan Khan shared their plan for Cholistan, Machka and riverside areas. Social Worker Abdul Khaliq appreciated the role of the Health Department and NGOs working in the area for raising awareness about the importance of vaccination. Mumtaz Baig of the Rotary Club appreciated the vaccination coverage at transit points.

Polio Officer Niaz Ahmad said there were 29 cases of poliomyelitis in the country at present. Rahim Yar Khan Health EDO Makhdoom Basharat Hussain said Rahim Yar Khan district had been a polio-free zone for the last five years. “That mustn’t change.”

Com-net Communications officer Furqan Tatla said the UNICEF had completed its work in six high-risk union councils and was preparing for a drive in other high-risk areas.

The district polio eradication committee chairman directed officials to further improve the campaign and issued directions to Police Department to provide the polio teams security.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 3^rd, 2015.