UoP to join efforts for polio eradication

PESHAWAR: A memorandum of understanding was signed Tuesday to establish a collaborative partnership between University of Peshawar (UoP) and Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) to jointly contribute to the national cause of polio eradication initiative.

EOC Coordinator Kamran Ahmed Afridi, Director, EPI Dr Akram Shah, UNICEF Provincial Head Dr Fazal Athar, Technical Focal Person for polio programme Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah, UoP Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Asif Khan, faculty members of Criminology and Social Work Department signed the MoU at the administration block of the university.

Speaking on the occasion, the EOC coordinator appreciated the partnership between University of Peshawar and PEOC, saying the MoU would help address community issues in the light of research conducted by university students.

He said students were the potential advocates of the anti-polio efforts and a representative sample of society and hoped that the partnership would help unearth and fix the reasons for refusal.

Elaborating the objectives of the MoU, Kamran Afridi said the focus group discussions would be carried out by the university students for different categories of refusing families.

The official said students from Afghanistan, Mohmand, Khyber, Bajaur and Waziristan would be engaged for community engagement sessions in high-risk union councils of Peshawar. Strategies would be developed jointly in light of the focus group discussions to address the refusal issue.

The UoP vice-chancellor said the polio was a national stigma, adding collaborative efforts from academia and cross segments of the society were required to root out the menace.