No polio case reported in KP this year, meeting told

PESHAWAR: Senior officials said on Wednesday no polio case was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year.

“Four polio cases were reported in the province last year while no cases have been reported this year. But environmental samples of polio have been found positive in different districts of the province this year,” said the special secretary Health and coordinator for the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre while briefing the participants of a meeting.

The Provincial Task Force for Polio Eradication meeting was held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhary at the Civil Secretariat, said a handout.Additional chief secretary Home, administrative secretaries, police officers, UNICEF and other relevant officials including representatives of the World Health Organization were present.

The officials of the National Emergency Operations Centre, commissioners and deputy commissioners attended the meeting through video link.The meeting was told that complete and partial anti-polio campaigns were conducted in June and July in different districts of the province and the targets were ensured.

The details were shed on the problems and difficulties faced during the polio eradication, including monitoring procedures.The chief secretary asked the relevant officials to resolve any problem encountered in the polio campaigns by utilizing available resources and having better coordination.

The chief secretary issued instructions to speed up the measures for the eradication of polio and make the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures stricter.He said that for better decision-making, the data related to polio campaigns should be complete and accurate in all respects and in this context, scientific-based measures and technology should be used to the full.

The chief secretary directed the commissioners and deputy commissioners to focus on resolving the problems in the districts on a priority basis and take strict action against the inefficient officials.The meeting paid tribute to the law enforcement officials and polio workers for their services and sacrifices.