Around 5.6 million children will be vaccinated in the province as the three-day anti-polio drive gets under way in all districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Monday.
This was stated by KP’s Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Coordinator Akbar Khan here on Sunday in a high-level meeting.
Representatives from UNICEF, EPI, WHO, BMGF and other concerned departments were present on the occasion.
The meeting was told that due to concerted efforts of the government, departments, and partner organisations, a significant decrease in polio has been witnessed in the province.
Peshawar is polio-free since last February, while efforts were ongoing to stop virus transmission in the high-risk areas of the province, he added.
Akbar Khan informed the meeting that comprehensive plan was made to ensure polio eradication in 2017, adding that OPV and IPV campaigns have been part of the plan.
According to the EOC data, 5.647 million children under five years of age will be administered polio drops in the province, including 77 camps of Afghan refugees and TDPs.
The campaign will start from February 27 in 1,032 union councils, for which 17,767 total teams of trained health workers have been constituted—which include 15,092 mobile teams, 1,592 fixed teams, 924 transit teams and 159 roaming teams.
EOC coordinator reiterated that polio vaccine was safe, and polio was eradicated from the globe through the same vaccine.
He appreciated the positive and constructive role played by media and other segments of society in anti-polio efforts, saying that strong support has resulted in successes against polio.
