Shahram praises vaccinators in fight against polio

PESHAWAR: Attributing the phenomenal achievements in polio eradication to the frontline workers, Senior Minister for Health Shahram Tarakai on Monday said that a single polio case in the province should not dampen the resolve to curb the crippling disease.

Chairing polio review meeting at Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) here, he said that polio workers on ground were the real heroes who were fighting the battle against polio.

He added the provincial government was mulling over to encourage frontline workers by awarding them commendation certificates and cash.

The minister while highlighting the role of routine immunisation in polio eradication directed to notify provincial taskforce for routine immunisation.

He appreciated the guiding and supporting role of all the partner organisations, saying that the teams on ground were working hard to implement the strategies and plans initiated by the technical experts in EOC.

“The government will continue its strong and unwavering support for polio eradication and will not tolerate any negligence and complacency in this regard as it is a matter of our future generations,” he added.

Secretary Health Abid Majeed said that the EPI/PEI synergy would be piloted in one tehsil of the province to gauge the output before piloting it in the rest of the province.

He said that Performance Evaluation Reports (PERs) of district health officers (DHOs) have been linked with polio eradication.

Earlier, EOC Coordinator Atif Rehman briefed the minister on the updated status of polio in the province with focus on Lakki Marwat case.

He informed the meeting that virus transmission had been stopped in most parts of the province but efforts were on and strong surveillance system was put in place to track and fix the remaining lacunas.

EPI Director Dr Akram Shah, technical focal person KP Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah, deputy team leader UNICEF Huma Arif Khan and WHO representatives also attended the meeting, said a handout.