KARACHI – Sindh Assembly Speaker Nisar Ahmed Khuhro was joined by Members of Provincial Assembly (MPAs) on Thursday for demanding the Health Ministry and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to inform the MPAs before commencement of every immunisation campaign so as to maximise the success of the campaigns in the province.
Khuhro and the MPAs were part of Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (PILDAT)’s ‘Briefing Session on Immunisation Campaigns: Challenges and Way Forward’.
Health Secretary Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi, Expanded Programme on Immunisation Sindh Project Director Dr Mazhar Khamisani, and UNICEF Sindh Immunisation Officer Dr Laila Rizvi were speakers at the occasion.
The session was also attended by Standing Committee on Health Chairman and Parliamentary Caucus on Immunisation Sindh Convener MPA Moeen Aamir Pirzada, and Parliamentary Caucus on Immunisation Vice President Member of National Assembly Fauzia Ejaz Khan.
In the third consecutive briefing on the subject, the MPAs have continued to demand being informed of the immunisation campaigns in their areas before they are begun to support them more effectively.
Khuhro stressed the need for an effective awareness campaign to eradicate polio using mediums such as the regional press and the FM radio.
Rizvi said that Pakistan is one of the only four countries in the world where polio still exists, and that Pakistan is the only country where the number of polio cases is rising.
Last year, 140 cases of polio were detected as compared to 86 cases the year before. In FATA and interior Sindh, polio cases are increasing considerably, which is a serious cause for concern.
Zaidi said that President Asif Ali Zardari has declared 2011 as the year for polio eradication. He assured the MPAs that they would be informed of future immunisation campaigns so that they could get involved.
He agreed that the coverage of routine campaigns is not very good, and that if routine campaigns covered the maximum area, there would be no need for special campaigns that cost heavily.
He said that legislation for compulsory immunisation of newborns would soon be presented in the Sindh Assembly for its consideration and passage.
Earlier, Khamisani gave a detailed briefing on the role of the Health Ministry in promoting supplementary immunisation in Sindh.
Introducing the session, PILDAT Joint Director Aasiya Riaz said that PILDAT has facilitated the formation of immunisation caucuses around seven national and provincial legislatures for public representatives’ awareness and involvement in immunisation campaigns.
She said that the caucuses around legislatures had begun focusing on the immunisation status in the flood-hit areas and the briefing was a way to present an overview of the current situation in Sindh.
