Public health: Poor performing districts warned to improve indictors

Polio campaign being launched in the province from today

LAHORE:

Action will be taken against district health officials showing consistently red on key performance indicators (KPIs), Adviser to CM on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique said on Monday.

He was chairing a meeting of health EDOs. Health Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik, Director General Amjad Shahzad, programme managers and representatives of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) were present.

Rafique warned districts failing to show improvement in health sector over the past six months. “If district officials fail to show improvement before the second week of December, they will be replaced,” he said.

The meeting discussed the preparations for the polio campaign being launched from Tuesday (today). Secretary Jawwad Rafique Malik directed the EDOs of Rawalpindi and Lahore to make special preparations for the campaign after positive environmental samples were obtained during October.

Extended Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Additional Director Dr Syed Sohail said that routine immunisation coverage was at 74 per cent. “The Neilson survey will start from November 15. A target of 80 per cent coverage has been set for the province,” he said.

The meeting was informed that there were only 16 measles cases in the province during the year.

The health secretary directed strict disciplinary action against staff who did not comply with biometric attendance. The secretary said that lists of medicines available should be displayed at conspicuous places in government hospitals to ensure that patients did not have to buy them from the market.

Polio campaign

EPI Punjab Director Dr Munir Ahmad said that due to the annual Raiwind congregation, the polio vaccination campaign would start in Lahore from November 17. “In Dera Ghazi Khan, we will conduct the campaign in two phases,” he said.

He said that the campaign would target 18 million children below the ages of five in all 36 districts of the province. “Mobile teams have been constituted to conduct the campaign. Due to positive environmental samples in Lahore and Rawalpindi, special preparations are being made for polio campaigns in these two cities. Instructions have been passed to the teams to ensure coverage of high-risk populations,” he said.

The official said that the province had seen a steep increase in routine immunisation coverage, which was 74 per cent.“Punjab introduced inactivated injectable polio vaccine (IPV) in routine immunisation in July this year. There has been only one reported case of polio in the Punjab so far this year,” he said.

He said that EDOs should ensure follow up of poorly-covered and missed areas and with proper evening meetings with teams. “The province faces a major challenge of migrant population from other provinces. Special transit points have been set up on bordering districts with other provinces where children are immunised on entry,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 10^th, 2015.