PESHAWAR: A three-day anti-polio vaccination campaign will start in Fata from today under the supervision of agency surgeons and security provided by political agents, commissioners and armed forces. The campaign will continue till November 22, and will be followed by catch-up of the missed children. A total of 10,40,396 children below the age of five years will be vaccinated by 4384 teams, comprising 3,990 mobile teams, 293 fixed teams and 101 transit teams, said a press release. During the campaign, vitamin A capsules will be administered to address the deficiency of vitamin A among children in Fata. Polio vaccination teams will be administering vitamin A to around 936,356 children from the age of six months to five years across Fata. Emergency Operation Centre Fata Coordinator Muhammad Zubair Khan said: “Effective collaboration for the improvement in quality of campaigns, robust oversight of campaign monitoring and accountability are vital to keep zero polio case status of Fata.” Fata is the only region, which has achieved 2016-2017 National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) target of 95 percent in at least three anti-polio campaigns (coverage for February, April and May 2017 was 96 percent, 95 percent and 97 percent, respectively), the press release said. The Fata completed one year without any polio case on July 27. Last polio case in Fata had been reported on July 27, 2016. So far in 2017, not a single case has been reported from Fata whereas only two polio cases were reported from Fata in 2016.
