Anti-polio drives — difficult to find missing children?

Rawalpindi : Pakistan is a large country with high childhood mortality and low immunization coverage rates as every year, more than one million children miss out a full course of the most basic vaccines here hinting that it is difficult to find children missing out during the anti-polio campaign as well yet access to vaccinators is also difficult in case the vaccination staff did not get to a child during the campaign. To parents can contact ‘1166’ to get their children vaccinated in case they have missed the anti-polio campaign.

Though the health departments have been doing a lot to improve coverage under Expanded Programme on Immunization on refusal cases and to mitigate the effects of misconceptions being propagated against National Polio Immunization Days, a lot is yet to be done to make access to vaccinators easy for parents whose children are missed out due to one or the other reason.

District Health Authority Rawalpindi advertised a helpline number ‘1166’ under Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme for information about vaccination against polio during the recent anti-polio campaign while district polio control room (DPCR) is made operational at deputy commissioner’s office having number 051-9292532 during the campaign, said District Health Officer (Preventive Services) Dr. Ihsan Ghani while talking to ‘The News’ on Saturday.

Majority of population however is unaware of the helpline and the functioning of DPCR and it may be because the access numbers are not circulated widely at community level. The helpline numbers are not displayed in ‘masajid’ (mosques), schools and other community centres at ‘mohallah’ or street level.

When asked, Dr. Ghani said the health departments have been working extensively for creating awareness among public on importance of administration of polio vaccine in children below five years of age yet the helpline numbers have not been displayed at mosques, schools or centres at community level.

He added by displaying helpline numbers at community level, access to vaccinators can be made much easier for parents and the number of children missed out during anti-polio campaigns can be minimized.

As public health specialists, the most important task for us is promotion of essential services including vaccination campaigns and then comes prevention and curative services, he said.

According to various surveys fully immunized child coverage in Pakistan ranges below 80 per cent while overall, less than 70 per cent of children are fully vaccinated with BCG, measles, and three doses of DPT and polio which is far from satisfactory level.

Many health experts believe that the weak immunization coverage in the country is one of the key reasons behind increase in number of polio cases in last two years.