More than 150,000 children below the age of five in certain trial agencies and frontier regions (FRs) of the country will not be vaccinated during the ongoing anti-polio campaign because of the security situation.
Talking to Pakistan Today on Tuesday, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) official Shadaab Younas said, “Our target is to vaccinate 700,000 children in the Federally Administrative Tribal Areas (FATA).”
She said that though the vaccination drive was going on successfully in certain tribal agencies and regions, there was no access to some of the regions because of the law and order situation.
A three-day polio vaccination drive was started on Monday and will end today. However, the teams would continue their assignment even after the conclusion of the drive, she said.
The UNICEF official said there was no polio vaccination campaign in North Waziristan, Ahmadzai Wazir tribesmen-dominated areas of South Waziristan, Central Kurram Agency, Orakzai Agency and the Frontier Regions of Bannu, Kohat and Peshawar, adding that around 150,000 children belonging to these areas would not be vaccinated.
She said 14 cases were reported so far from FATA this year.
She said the government and the administration of the tribal areas was engaged in contacting the Taliban but no progress had been made so far.
POLIO VACCINATION DRIVE:
Health department officials will aim to vaccinate 5.184 million children in 16 out of 25 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) during the three-day-long anti-polio drive which commenced on Monday.
A health department official, Dr Taimur, told Pakistan Today that vaccination campaigns will be started in the remaining nine districts from August 26.
The campaign was delayed in these districts due to the by-elections which are scheduled for August 22.