Bara people call for polio awareness programmes

BARA: Locals on Friday called for launching awareness programmes in Khyber tribal district to counter the recent propaganda against anti-polio vaccination.

Of late, propaganda on social media in Peshawar and other districts adversely affected the anti-polio campaign.

An official of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Daud Afridi also said he refusal cases were increasing day by day.

A local resident, Safdar Afridi, said: “The EPI officials did not arrange any awareness programme in the region.”

He said that polio drops were not harmful but some elements had created mistrust about the initiative.

“At least 76 cases appeared in Khyber district in 2014 and 56 cases emerged in Akakhel when the militancy was at its peak in the area,” he added.

Another tribesman, Ismail Afridi, said the tribal people had been suffering from various diseases, including Leishmania, malaria, and others but the government did not pay attention to those diseases.

He said the government had spent millions of rupees on polio drive but the officials did not arrange polio awareness programme in the areas.