Commitment to eradicating polio reaffirmed

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is set to launch a five-day anti-polio campaign from May 26, aiming to vaccinate approximately 7.3 million children under the age of five.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah formally inaugurated the campaign by administering polio vaccine to the children at the Police Services Hospital, Peshawar. Senior government officials as well as representatives of the donor agencies attended the ceremony.

The chief secretary emphasised that polio remained a dangerous disease that could cause lifelong disability in children, placing immense emotional and financial strain on families.He stressed that the presence of the poliovirus in any area continued to pose a threat to all children, making it important that every child receives the vaccine during the campaign.

Highlighting the critical role of community support, Shahab Ali Shah urged all segments of society, particularly religious leaders, civil society, and the media, to play an active role in eradicating the virus. The senior officer noted that print, electronic, and social media platforms should raise awareness among parents about the importance of vaccination and the risks associated with refusing it.

He reaffirmed the provincial government’s commitment to eradicating polio on a priority basis. “At the district level, deputy commissioners and district health officers supervise the anti-polio drives daily to ensure effective implementation,” he added.

Shahab Ali Shah also pointed out that a successful campaign was conducted in April due to improved strategies and public cooperation, which significantly contributed to achieving the set targets. He expressed hope that the upcoming campaign would yield even better results.

The Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has finalized all arrangements for the campaign. A total of 35,465 trained polio workers have been deployed, forming 32,155 mobile teams, 1,918 fixed-site teams, 1,225 transit teams, and 167 roaming teams.

Furthermore, 8,351 area in-charges have been appointed to ensure effective monitoring of the campaign. Security arrangements have also been made across the province to facilitate polio teams during the campaign.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported five polio cases this year, including two cases from Bannu, and one each from Lakki Marwat, Torghar and Dera Ismail Khan.It is worth mentioning here that the polio workers had been facing serious multiple challenges in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s southern districts, particularly Bannu, the hometown of chief secretary Shahab Ali Shah, as well as Lakki Marwat, Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, North Waziristan and the two South Waziristan tribal districts, where polio teams can’t run door to door campaign due to security concerns. Also, the national and international organisations have been complaining about the role of district health officials as well as the lack of strong monitoring of the polio programme in Punjab.