Not a single fresh polio occurrence case has been reported in Pakistan since January this year which, despite many difficulties, is a significant achievement.
All the 15 polio cases came to limelight over the period are, in fact, back logs and vigorous efforts are under way to vaccinate each and every child during the ensuing polio vaccination campaigns.
This was told to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Barrister Masood Kausar while he was presiding over the third meeting of the Special Joint Task Force for FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Polio Eradication at Governor’s House on Friday which beside others was also attended by MNA Azra Fazal Pechuho, who is member of the task force and also the sister of President Asif Ali Zardari.
The meeting was attended by provincial Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir Akhtar, administrative secretaries and heads of concerned departments, commissioners, political agents of tribal agencies, district coordination officers, representatives of World Health Organisation, UNICEF, Malinda and Bill Gates Foundation and other organisations engaged in the struggle to get the world free from the polio threat.
Both Governor Kausar and MNA Azra Fazal Pechuho while noting the achievements with appreciation of further observed that though substantial steps are underway in getting rid of polio disease yet, there is a need not only to reach to each and every child of the province and FATA.
The polio eradication campaign, it was observed, is a continuous process and to make it fully result oriented, not only the zero level tolerance towards any short coming has to be maintained but there is also need to maintain quality in all respect. Besides ensuring efficient working of polio vaccination teams, it was further stressed that regular review especially effective role of accountability teams have also to be maintained up to the mark.
Meanwhile, the meeting was informed that double gadget of cooling system is managed to maintain quality of vaccines. The practice of providing vaccination facility at the transit routes has been continued and in Peshawar alone more than thirty thousands internally dislocated children were given polio drops. On a point, it was further told that hundred percent achievements have been targeted till end of June this year in all respects and it is determined not to spare any effort to make this possible. It was further told that ten days ahead of every polio vaccination campaign, formal coordination meetings are held right at the district and union council level wherein all concerned are up-dated and the issues thrashed out.
