November round of campaign: Over 2.8m to be vaccinated against polio in 12 districts

PESHAWAR: November round of anti-polio campaign has been planned in 12 districts of the province, with a focus on southern and central parts of the province, wherein over 2.8 million children will be vaccinated against polio to help purge the region of the circulating virus and move closer to the goal of polio-free world.

This was decided in a readiness meeting here at Emergency Operations Centre Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said a communique. Director General Health Services Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr Shaheen Afridi, and Additional Secretary Health (Polio Eradication)/Coordinator EOC Asif Raheem co-chaired the meeting.

The chair was briefed that as per the decision of the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC), the November campaign would be conducted in two phases in 12 districts including Bannu, Lakki Marwat, North Waziristan, DI Khan, Tank, South Waziristan, Peshawar, Khyber, Nowshera, Swat, Mohmand, and Bajaur.

It was told that the first round will be kicked off in Bannu, Lakki Marwat and North Waziristan districts from November 28 to December 2, 2022, during which 566,164 million children under five years will be administered polio drops by teams.

Likewise, the chair was informed that the second round of the campaign will be kicked off on December 5, 2022, in 7 complete districts of DI Khan, Tank and South Waziristan, Peshawar, Khyber, Swat, Nowshera while a partial campaign will be carried out in Bajaur and Mohmand districts.

Overall a total of 2,804,081 children will be administered polio drops in the campaign in 12 districts, for which a total of 11,464 teams have been constituted, including 9,184 mobile teams, 700 fixed teams, 612 transit teams, and 74 roaming teams.

The meeting was informed that more than 20,000 law-enforcement personnel will be deployed in the campaign districts to ensure security for the frontline workers in the November campaign.

Speaking on the occasion, Asif Rahim said that all necessary operational, communications, and security arrangements shall be made to ensure smooth conduct of the campaign and administration of the anti-polio vaccine to all target children.

He appreciated the resolve, commitment, and tireless efforts of frontline workers for braving all odds for protecting children from potentially fatal diseases. He said that all the segments of society including parents, community elders, religious scholars, doctors, media, and civil society shall support the government in eradicating the crippling disease from the region.

“The toll-free Helpline 1166 and 24/7 WhatsApp Polio Helpline 0346-777-65-46 will be available to assist parents and caregivers by providing information about vaccines and campaign information,” he added.