Over 5.7 million children to be administered anti-polio vaccine in KP

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PESHAWAR: As many as 5.712 million children below the age of five years will be given oral polio vaccine (OPV) in the upcoming anti-polio drive whereas children between the age group of six months to 59 months will be given vitamin A drops to boost their immunity.

This was disclosed in a meeting held here on Friday at Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to review the readiness status of the upcoming NID starting from November 20, 2017, in all districts of the province.

EOC Coordinator Atif Rehman presided over the meeting while EPI Director Dr Akram Shah, Technical Focal Person for BMGF Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah, UNICEF Team Leader Dr Johar, WHO Team Leader Dr Abdi and other relevant staff were also present on the occasion.

The meeting was informed that a total of 5.712 million children would be administered the anti-polio vaccine in the upcoming campaign whereas six weeks to 59 weeks old children would also be administered Vitamin A drops.

The campaign will also be carried out in the Afghan camps and all the micro-plans have been updated and teams have been trained to vaccinate the target children. A security plan has also been made to ensure a safe and conducive environment for the teams.

A total of 18,428 teams have been constituted for the campaign out of which 15,719 are mobile teams, 1,545 fixed, 930 transit and 235 are roaming teams. Furthermore, 4,088 area in-charges would also be monitoring the teams.

Speaking on the occasion, EOC coordinator said that it was the second NID of the low transmission season and was of great importance as low transmission season was the best opportunity to stop virus transmission and wipe out the menace for good.

He reiterated the strong resolve of the government for polio eradication saying that no complacency or negligence will be tolerated in achieving this national goal. Atif Rehman asked the parents to fulfil their national and religious obligation by getting their children vaccinated against polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases and help ensure healthy future for the children.

He also thanked KP Health Secretary Abid Majeed, KP Department of Health and partner organisations for their strong support and guidance which helped achieve phenomenal successes in the fight against polio.

It is pertinent to mention here that the country has recorded five polio cases so far in 2017 out of which one case each has been recorded from KP, Punjab, Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan and Karachi.

 

 

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