Rotary Club, Business Train join hands for polio vaccination

Karachi
A special polio vaccination desk set up at the privately-run Pakistan Business Train’s offices at the Cantonment Station was officially inaugurated by City Commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui and Citizens Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) Chief Ahmed Chinoy on Monday.
The immunisation desk has been established by the Rotary Club of Karachi on the eve of the international organisation’s 110th anniversary. Eight vaccinators have been deployed for the special counter and officials said they would be travelling from Lahore to Karachi and back to administer vaccine to all under-five children onboard.
In his address on the occasion, Siddiqui lauded the Rotary Club and Business Train’s managements for their initiative and said it was a much-needed venture at a time when the country was battling hard to wipe out the disease.
“The option of vaccinations during the journey adds another front in the war against polio and may well prove to be the difference maker in Pakistan’s battle against polio,” he said.
Chinoy also felicitated the two main stakeholders over the initiative and hoped that it would have a positive effect on vaccination efforts. He stressed the need for combined efforts from all segments of society but called particularly upon Pakistan’s business community to assist in anti-polio measures.
Vaccination campaign
Renowned Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan inaugurated a polio vaccination drive in District Central by administering vaccine drops to children of the area.
Dr Khan, who inaugurated the campaign on the request of Deputy Commissioner Central Dr Saif-ur-Rehman, urged all parents to have their children vaccinated without hesitation.
“It is a pity that Pakistan has been unable to wipe out polio; negligence and lack of knowledge on parents’ part is earning us a bad name in the comity of nations,” he said.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Saif-ur-Rehman announced the campaign would be conducted from February 24 to February 28 in 12 high-risk union councils of the district.
“The main aim of having Dr Khan inaugurate this campaign was to remove the stigma and misconceptions associated with polio vaccination,” he said and assured that all possible measures were being taken to ensure the campaign’s success.
The event was attended by all assistant commissioners, town health officers and representatives of UNICEF and WHO.