Fata completes one year without a single polio case

PESHAWAR: Governor Iqbal Zafar Jhagra on Wednesday lauded the efforts of the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) Fata team and vaccinators for keeping Fata polio-free for the last one year. He said, “It is a significant milestone achieved for the first time in the history of fight against polio in Fata.”

According to an official handout, he congratulated the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Fata Coordinator Dr Fida Muhammad Wazir and his team for their efforts and hard work. “It has been an unprecedented year of quality leadership by Dr Fida Mohammad Wazir and the untiring efforts of EOC Fata team and vaccinators who kept Fata polio-free for a year,” he added.

The last polio case was reported in Fata on July 27, 2016 and since then the tribal areas maintained its status. The handout said that Dr Fida Muhammad Wazir appreciated the EOC Fata team and agency level teams.

“We should continue to strive for keeping Fata polio-free forever, which is very much possible now,” he maintained. He said “it is important that we keep constant check on mobile population as they could be a source of transmitting virus from other regions to Fata.”

The recent focus of the polio programme has been on reaching and vaccinating persistently missed children and high risk mobile population. The EOC Fata coordinator added that in line with the National Emergency Action Plan 2017-18, female vaccinators were being hired to reach out to the high risk mobile population. He undermined the importance of updating the microplans so that a single child was not missed.