3-day polio campaign kicks off today

If one polio case exists in our country the threat of this menace would remain for other children, say speakers.

LAHORE: The speakers at the inaugural ceremony of the 3-day National Anti-Polio Campaign held at Children Hospital on December 27 said that if one polio case exists in our country the threat of this menace would remain for other children. The eradication of polio is a collective responsibility of the government as well as society and we will work hard with dedication for this noble cause. National Assembly member Naseer Ahmad Bhutta, Punjab Assembly members Hafiz Nauman, Dr Zamurd Yaseen, Punjab health director general Dr Muhammad Aslam Chaudhry, WHO medical officer Dr Debra, Children Hospital dean Prof Tahir Masood and medical director Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathor addressed the inaugural ceremony of the 3-day National Anti-Polio Campaign which will start on 28 December, 2010.

Bhutta said that a disease free society is the vision of Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif. He said that it is the desire of the CM to provide equal health facilities to all the citizens. He said that polio is a crippling disease and people have to struggle jointly for its eradication. Nauman and Dr Yaseen said that on the directions of the CM free medicines are being provided in government hospitals and for the first time instead of VIP rooms, general wards of the government hospitals have been made air-conditioned. They urged upon the people, especially parents, to cooperate with the vaccination teams of the Health Department and ensure that polio drops are administered to their children thereby saving them from permanent disability.

Dr Aslam Chaudhry said that due to the specific condition in our northern areas, a number of children are deprived of polio drops in every anti-polio campaign which is a one of the basic reasons of the existence of this disease in the country. He said that the Health Department has arranged polio drops for more than 17.5 million children of up to 5 years of age. He said that vaccination teams have been constituted for this purpose. The Health Department has also arranged polio vaccination at public places such as railway stations, bus terminals, toll plazas and airports. He said that during the campaign from 28 December to 30 December all the hospitals and health centers would also extend this facility. He appealed to the parents that they must get their children vaccinated with polio drops in order to save their lives.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2010.