Campaign launched in all three tehsils Landi Kotal, Jamrud and Bara of Khyber Agency, 1,036,309 children below five years of age would be vaccinated
PESHAWAR
Vaccination campaign will start in the Federally Administered Tribal Area, in which 1,036,309 children below five years of age would be vaccinated.
The oral polio vaccination (OPV) campaign will be followed by a catch-up drive. A total of 4,239 teams comprising 3,854 mobile, 284 fixed and 101 transit have been formed for the purpose.
Coordinator of Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Fata Dr Fida Mohammad Wazir said that every effort would be made to ensure stoppage of the polio transmission in the tribal region, this year, according to a press release issued here on Sunday.
He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engr Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had shown personal interest in polio eradication programme in Fata. He said high level engagement had paid the dividends as no case had been reported in Fata during last nine months.
Mr Wazir praised the dedication of polio workers, especially those visiting houses under extreme conditions.
In a recently held Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting in Islamabad, its chairman Jean-Marc Oliv praised the remarkable progress made against polio in Fata in 2016 and 2017.
However, he emphasised the need for engaging more women teams, decreasing the number of missed children and improving routine immunisation in the region.
Earlier, a phase-wise IPV-OPV campaign was launched in Fata in February and March, this year, with remarkable success as external evaluation adjudged the coverage over 95 per cent.
Dr Wazir said special IPV-OPV campaign in Shaktoi area of South Waziristan had also been successfully completed during the current month.
He added that Shaktoi was inaccessible since 2012 and the KP governor in coordination with the Pak Army made it possible to reach out to the children.
Seven days anti- polio drive launched in all three tehsils Landi Kotal, Jamrud and Bara of Khyber Agency, the official of health department said on Monday.
Sharing details regarding the campaign, Agency Surgeon Dr, Niaz Afridi said that the current drive has taking place through out Khyber agency including disturbed Tirah Valley where forces operation is continued but the drive has been initiated in tight security measures. He further said that for the purpose 750 teams has been comprised that would execute its duties as mobile, transit and fixed teams.He further added that 200 supervisors has been appointed to direct the door to door campaign and and to administer polio drops to 221000 children below five years.One hundred and fifty female staff has been assigned duties of polio workers to make the drive more effective,the health official remarked.
The campaign has been taking in tight security provided and extra-troops of forces, Khasadar and Levies have been deployed with the polio teams to foil any untoward incident,administration and forces official said.
Agency Surgeon asked for assistance of the tribesmen, journalists, religious communities and the political administration to join hands with them to wipe out the curse,polio from the area.
“It is the duty of every citizen to motivate the parents of children below five years to feed polio vaccine to their children, so that make Pakistan free of polio”,he opined.
As per health department FATA report,Khyber was free of polio in 2016 and the situation has remained same in 2017 so far while one polio case wasrecorded in through out the FATA,in Wazirestan.
