Peshawar
A meeting of the Provincial Task Force for Polio Eradication was held today at the Civil Secretariat, Peshawar. Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry presided the meeting.
The meeting was attended by key officials, including the Additional Chief Secretary Home, relevant administrative secretaries, senior law enforcement officers and representatives from international organizations such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization.
Officials from the National Emergency Operations Center, Islamabad, Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners, joined the meeting via video link.
During the meeting, the Special Secretary Health and the Coordinator of the Provincial Emergency Operations Center provided a comprehensive briefing on the current polio situation in the province.
It was noted that, while no polio cases have been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so far this year, environmental samples from various districts have tested positive for the poliovirus.
Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry expressed satisfaction that the province has remained polio-free this year but emphasized the importance of vigilance due to the positive environmental samples.
He called for the deployment of all available resources to analyze the causes of these positive samples and urged the authorities to present concrete recommendations to the government for further preventive measures.
The Chief Secretary stressed the need for a high-quality anti-polio campaign, noting that the control of the poliovirus depends on the effectiveness of the campaign.
He issued directives to pay special attention to tourist areas, cities with high population mobility, especially Peshawar, and districts with significant travel traffic.
Additionally, he instructed district administrations, police, and health officials to actively participate in anti-polio efforts and warned that strict action would be taken against any negligent officers.
The meeting reviewed preparations for the upcoming national anti-polio campaign, set to commence on September 9th. Special plans have been devised for certain districts in the province to ensure the success of the campaign. It is pertinent to mention that Afghanistan will be conducting its polio campaign on the same dates.
