Polio confusion

Some government hospitals in the city and a polio kiosk at the airport, used to administer polio drops to children and adults before their international departure. A yellow card was issued to passengers taking oral polio drops. Our government, with the help of NADRA, made polio certificates mandatory for international travellers and a NADRA desk was established at government hospitals and NADRA staff updated the polio vaccination record. Upon payment of Rs100 to NADRA online, a polio certificate was issued, valid for up to a year. This practice continued for a year or so but now, no government hospital is administering polio drops to passengers traveling abroad and even NADRA staff appear to be missing from these government hospitals.

Passengers traveling abroad are now completely in the dark. They do not know which government hospital to go for taking polio drops and where to get NADRA certificates from unless their staff updates polio vaccination records. Federal and provincial governments are requested to take immediate notice of this situation before we come to know that Pakistani nationals are being deported from other countries for lack of polio vaccination certificates.

M Rafique Zakaria

Karachi