Paediatricians call for vaccination against VPDs

PESHAWAR: Stressing the need for strengthening routine immunisation, prominent paediatricians of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Thursday advised the government to ensure that each and every child gets proper vaccination against the nine vaccine-preventable diseases (VPDs).

The Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) had organised a session at the Khyber Teaching Hospital (KTH) in connection with World’s Immunisation Week (April 25-30).Noted paediatricians, including Prof Dr Ashfaq Ahmad Khan, the pioneer of starting specialist paediatric services and launching vaccination in the province, Prof Dr Abdul Hameed, Prof Dr Amin Jan, Prof Dr Gohar Rahman, Prof Dr Afzal Khattak, and others, attended the event.

Prof Dr Amin Jan, president PPA and head of children B unit in KTH, said that proper immunisation was the only available tool to save children from nine preventable diseases.He said it was Prof Ashfaq Ahmad Khan who in 1969 launched the immunisation campaign in the province.

Prof Amin Jan said they could save up to 3 million lives of children every year through immunisation and if the coverage is 90 percent, then it could save 4 million lives.He said that by strengthening the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) that plays key role in routine immunisation, they could easily overcome the nine life-threatening childhood diseases, including poliomyelitis, measles, pneumococcal, diphtheria, pertusis, tetanus, Hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza and childhood tuberculosis.

The senior paediatrician said the PPA had initiated immunisation even before the start of EPI in 1978 and was still playing vital role in raising awareness among parents about the importance of immunisation for their children.

According to Prof Amin Jan, the vaccination coverage had dropped from 78 percent to an alarming level of 46 percent to 56pc, due to a host of reasons, including lack of awareness, misconception associated with vaccination mostly by religious segments, lack of motivation of EPI, absence of vaccines, problems with cold chain, etc.

He linked increase in immunisation to increase in awareness among parents, public demand for vaccination and suggested proper legislation for immunisation and its linkages with school admission and free consultant services in the hospitals.

 “Unless and until we improve routine immunisation, we would not be able to reduce mortality among children,” he said.Like Afghanistan with 66 IMR, Pakistan’s infant mortality rate with 66 in 2015 was the worst in South Asia, whereas Iran is having the best with 13, followed by Bangladesh with 31.

Prof Ashfaq Ahmad recalled their good days of 1980s, saying situation was far better than of today.He said awareness and political and religious will were the main contributors of success in any immunisation. He said the PPA held a meeting with the then president Ziaul Haq and convinced him to declare vaccination compulsory and that reached coverage up to 85 percent.

“One day a prominent religious figure of Panjpir in Swabi district came to me and asked me about the story behind vaccination. I convinced him about significance for children’s life protection and he turned supporter of immunisation,” he recalled.Prof Abdul Hameed also emphasised on strengthening routine immunisation and breastfeeding.

He said it is sad that paediatricians were now promoting formula milk, saying they would need to take the start from themselves if wanted others to change.

Prof Hameed said hujra and mosque were the two important learning places, better to be utilised for raising awareness and training and healthy activities. “Unfortunately, the hujra has become irrelevant nowadays, while mosque is being used for other purposes,” he said.

Prof Abdul Hameed lamented decline in breastfeeding and immunisation, saying they wanted to set up an FM radio channel at the Khyber Institute of Child Health and Children’s Hospital (KICH) in 2011.Prof Gohar Rahman said the BoG of HMC had approved and funds were still available but Pemra is not giving them license.

EPI Programme Manager Dr Mohammad Ayub Roz they had decided in principle to separate polio vaccinators from routine immunisation to improve coverage and save lives of children from nine VPDs.

He said they began from Buner, Haripur and Malakand districts, where routine immunisation vaccinators would not participate in polio campaign.Dr Ayub Roz said EPI vaccinators are supposed to work for 19 days every month in NIDs that badly affected routine immunisation.

The EPI head said the provincial capital Peshawar remained the worst in terms of poor routine immunisation coverage.Besides Lahore city and Rawalpindi city in Punjab, Dr Ayub Roz added, the polio vaccinators had been separated from routine immunisation.“The aim is to increase immunisation coverage. If immunisation is improved, it will no doubt eradicate polio as well,” he said.