CM Mahmood Khan formally kicks off anti-polio campaign

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan formally kicked off the anti-polio campaign by administering anti-polio drops to a child at the Chief Minister’s House on Wednesday.

KP Minister for Health Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Secretary Health Syed Imtiaz Hussain Shah, DG Health Services Dr Niaz Muhammad, representatives of the World Health Organisation and other officials were present on the occasion, said a handout.

During the campaign, a total of 4.56 million children would be administered anti-polio drops in 21 highly sensitive districts of the province.

The chief minister said the government had decided to resume anti-polio campaigns, after four months of discontinuation due to Covid-19, under specific Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Mahmood Khan stated that eradication of polio from the province was on the top of the government agenda and the concrete steps were being taken in this regard, adding that all available resources would be utilized to prevent upcoming generations from physical disability.

The chief minister hoped that the campaign would prove successful with the cooperation of the media and local community.

While paying tribute to organizations involved in the eradication of polio, he said that polio workers and other frontliners are our heroes who are working in eradicating polio despite challenges.

Meanwhile, another handout said despite un-conducive conditions due to coronavirus pandemic, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Revenue Authority (KPRA) has made a significant increase of 65 per cent in its annual revenue collection during the last financial year.

The meeting was given a detailed briefing about the overall performance of the authority during the last year, its future goals, the proposed legal and administrative reforms of the authority, sectoral and geographical expansion of its functions, steps taken by the authority to extend maximum facilitation to the tax-payers and various other aspects.

During financial 2018-19, the KPRA made a revenue collection of Rs10.41 billion which has been increased to Rs 17.20 billion during the last financial year.

The authority has set a target of Rs 20 billion in revenue collection during the current financial year, and hopefully, it will make revenue collection more than the set target.