Five NIDs and four SNID’s planned to vaccinate 36 million and 15 million children, respectively. PHOTO: FILE
The National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) for Polio Eradication has been converted into a district action plan that outlines the required action to be taken for the optimal implementation of the national polio eradication programme.
This initiative is part of the low-transmission season plan that has been taken for the first time in Pakistan. “This initiative is the need of the hour,” National Emergency Operation Cell for Polio coordinator, Dr Rana Muhammad Safdar, told The Express Tribune. The concerned department at the district level will be fully responsible for the implementation and monitoring of national polio eradication programme, according to Dr Safdar.
Sharing the details of the low-transmission season plan, he said this year the plan has been implemented ahead of the start of the season — which is expected to begin from October-November and continue till May next year.
A total of nine anti-polio drives have been planned. Out of these five are National Immunisation Days (NIDs) and four are Sub National Immunisation Day (SNIDs), he said.
The first NID of low transmission season is going to be carried out from September 14. In this NID 36 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated against the crippling disease. The first anti-polio drive of this low transmission season has already started in seven districts of Karachi. In the remaining parts of the city, it will be carried-out from Monday, he said.
On the other hand, the four SNIDs have been planned for the 12 high risk districts across the country. In this 15 million children under the age of five will be vaccinated against polio, he said.
These high-risk districts include Gadap and Baldia Town in Karachi, Quetta, Qila Abdullah, Pishin in Balochistan and Peshawar. Bannu, Tank in K-P and North and South Waziristan, Khyber Agency in Fata are also included in these districts.
“District control rooms for monitoring and coordinating activities during anti-polio drives have been rebuilt in the high-risk districts. Under low transmission plan and the shortage of human resource has also been addressed in these districts,” said Safdar.
He was hopeful that carrying out quality anti-polio campaigns during this low transmission season would lower the number of polio cases by the end of this year.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 12th, 2015.
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