Chief Minister’s advisor on Health, Khawaja Salman Rafique on Friday directed the provincial authorities to introduce four vaccines under the Expanded Programme for Immunization (EPI) in next five years.
Chairing a Provincial EPI Steering Committee meeting in the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department at Birdwood Road, he said all out efforts would be made to reduce child mortality.
Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Ali Jan Khan, National Immunization Technical Advisory Group’s Chairman Tariq Iqbal Bhutta, DG Health Dr Mukhtar Hussain Syed, Director EPI/EOC Coordinator Munir Ahmed, Children Hospital’s MD Professor Ahsan Waheed Rathore, Professor Akmal Laeeq from KEMU, Dr Zahida Sarwar of Pakistan Paediatrics Association and technical officials of UNICEF, WHO and Gates Foundation also attended the meeting.
The EPI Steering Committee was the apex technical body guiding the provincial EPI on technical and strategic decisions.
Salman Rafique asked the EPI program officials to complete their homework for the introduction of the following: Rubella, Hepatitis B birth dose, Diphtheria booster dose and DT vaccines.
Khawaja Salman also sought technical update on introduction of Cervical Cancer and asked to prepare detailed report on it.
The meeting reviewed the Diphtheria situation in Punjab and its preventive and curative measures.
EPI Director Dr Munir Ahmed presented a detailed analysis of Diphtheria situation in Punjab, pattern of cases in the country, as well as, the status of vaccination in the union councils which reported diphtheria cases in district Kasur.