PESHAWAR: A special anti-polio campaign begins today in 12 high-risk districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. More than 2.9 million children under the age of five years will be vaccinated in the campaign.
This was discussed in a high-level meeting held at Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The meeting was chaired by EOC coordinator Akbar Khan, where as representatives of technical partners including UNICEF, WHO, BMGF were also present. The meeting expressed satisfaction over arrangements for the campaign starting on July 10, 2017.
Speaking on the occasion Akbar Khan said that in view of the significance of upcoming campaign, every effort has been made to make it a success. He said that failure was not an option with us and called for collective efforts for polio eradication. In the special campaign of the high transmission season of the year, the government is trying hard to keep the current momentum and achievements and maintain the status of a polio-free zone, he added.
Akbar Khan said that 2.927 million children below 5 years were the target of the campaign in 12 districts, Peshawar, Swat, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Chitral, Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Shangla, Battagram, Kohistan and Tor Ghar. 8090 teams of trained polio workers have been constituted for this special campaign, out of which 6701 were mobile teams, 825 fixed, 450 transit teams while 114 were roaming teams.
Referring to the security cover, the EOC coordinator said that adequate security measures were taken to ensure safety and security of the polio teams who were the frontline workers in the fight against polio. Akbar Khan stressed that parents and every segment of the society must take part in the polio eradication efforts.