No more paid leave for polio staff during campaign days

Islamabad: The staff of the Polio Eradication Programme will henceforth not be allowed to proceed on leave with pay during the preparation and campaign week, as well as during the post-campaign catch-up days.

A decision to this effect has been taken by the Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Babar Bin Ata. “They can remain absent or proceed on leave during these 18 days, but the amount will be deducted from their salaries,” he has warned on twitter.

Meanwhile, during a review of the December nationwide polio vaccination campaign, Minister for Health Aamer Mehmood Kiani has advised the country team to go all-out for interrupting poliovirus during the current low transmission season. “With the virus confined to small pockets of persistent transmission within core reservoirs, Pakistan has a historic opportunity in hand to ensure a olio -free future for generations,” he said. Earlier on, Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar, Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Centre shared statistics of the December campaign conducted using a workforce of 260,000 workers.