Walk held to highlight importance of childhood immunisation

Childhood vaccination is a basic right of every Pakistani children as vaccines prevent them from disease, disability and preventable deaths, officials and health experts said on Thursday as they urged the parents to get their children vaccinated against polio and other diseases.

They were speaking at an awareness walk organised by the provincial Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in District West in collaboration with the District Health Office (DHO) District West.

Participants of the walk said vaccines were life-saving therapeutic products that protected the children from infectious diseases. They added that vaccines were the most cost-effective way of protecting children from diseases.

The grand EPI walk witnessed active participation from EPI vaccinators, lady health workers, polio teams and representatives of esteemed organisations such as WHO, UNICEF, TVI, IRD, Vital Pakistan and Rotary International.

Highlighting the importance of childhood vaccination, Dr Muhammad Naeem, Project Director EPI, said: "Childhood vaccination is our priority, and it is the basic right of every child. We are committed to extending our services to reach every single child." Dr Muhammad Ali, District West DHO, echoed this, stating, "We are dedicated to ensuring that no child is left behind."

In a move towards enhancing outreach efforts, Dr. Sohail Raza Shaikh, Additional Director EPI, announced that the EPI was providing e-scooters to female outreach vaccinators in Karachi, facilitating their mobility in delivering vital immunisation services."

Professionals who participated in the walk included Additional Director EPI Dr Hameed Jumani, Keamari DHO Dr Tayyab Umerani, Malir DHO Dr Imdad Ali, South DHO Dr Raj Kumar, Dr Jameel Mughal, Dr Ahmed Ali Shaikh, Dr Amjad Ansari, Dr Tasleem Khamesani, Dr Waqar Soomro, Dr Uzair Farooqui and Dr Wasif Shaikh.