Private schools urged to comply with measles campaign

Islamabad : Private schools must comply with the National Measles Campaign for optimum coverage, Minister for Health Aamer Mehmood Kiani exhorted Tuesday while also expressing concern over delays in grant of permission by private school authorities for measles vaccination.

Talking to the media on a monitoring visit to various health centres located in the outskirts of Islamabad, Kiani underlined the need for effective coordination between all departments for a successful campaign. He commended the government-led efforts that have enabled achievement of more than 50% of the target with the help of frontline workers. The week-long campaign will target 32.5 million children aged between 9 months to 5 years. “In line with the vision of the Prime Minister Imran Khan, our prime goal is to strengthen health and education to enhance the human development index of the country,” Kiani stated while discussing efforts for revamping of the health sector in a bid to accelerate its service delivery component.

Following the field visit, Kiani visited the National Measles Control Room to monitor real time coverage of the campaign. Dr. Saqlain Gilani, National Programme Manager, briefed him on the procedure of real-time data collection. “Data from across the country is submitted by provincial and district level teams through Android app to the centralized National Control Room. Teams at the National Control Room analyse the data, identify issues, and take measures to address the challenges or mitigate the effects, shared Dr. Gilani.

Kiani appreciated the efforts of the officials of EPI, development partners, GAVI, Unicef and WHO for extending assistance in making apt arrangements for the campaign.