Birth, marriage certificates issuance linked to polio vaccination

PESHAWAR: The district administration here on Sunday issued a directive making polio vaccination certificates mandatory for obtaining official documents, including birth, marriage, divorce, and death certificates, in the city’s seven tehsils.

According to a notification, applicants must provide a confirmation certificate from the District Health Office (DHO) verifying that polio drops had been administered to their children.The village and neighbourhood councils are barred from issuing certificates without obtaining a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the DHO.

“This step aims to ensure compliance from parents refusing to vaccinate their children against polio,” said an official.The directive is part of ongoing efforts to address resistance to polio vaccination in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where many parents have refused to allow their children to receive the anti-polio drops.The administration hoped that linking essential civil documentation to vaccination will boost anti-polio vaccination.