Punjab to support law on mandatory vaccination

LAHORE
Adviser to Chief Minister on Health, Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that provincial government is implementing a programme to provide best medical treatment facilities and prevention of diseases according to the vision of Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
He said that the Punjab government would fully endorse the legislation on Mandatory Vaccination and Protection of Health Workers.
He said this while talking to the Prime Minister’s focal person on Polio, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq in a consultative meeting in the Health Department, according to a handout issued here on Sunday. Members Punjab Assembly Lubna Faisal, Dr Nousheen Hamid, Ms Alia Aftab, Dr Murad Rass, Ms Rahila Khadim, Ms Naseem Lodhi, Shehzad Munshi, Salma Shaheen, Special Secretary Health Gulzar Hussain Shah and Additional Secretary Health Dr Salman Shahid were also present in the meeting.
On this occasion, Ayesha Raza Farooq informed that she had tabled the draft bill in Senate in April this year. Speaking on the bill, she said that one out of ten children died and could not reach their 5th birthday due to vaccine preventable diseases. “We need to start educating the constituents that its their responsibility to vaccinate and give a healthy life to children”, opined Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq. Commenting on the significance of uniform law across the country, she highlighted that polio virus and other diseases knew no boundary; therefore, uniform law was needed to protect all children across the country. “Provinces should introduce their own Bill for Mandatory Vaccination or give mandate to Federal legislation so that a uniform law can protect our children from death and disability”, she added.
Earlier, Dr Tahir Masood, President Pakistan Pediatrician Association presented an overall situation of immunisation in the country and highlighted that vaccine preventable diseases was one of the main causes of under five mortality rate in the country. Pakistan is one of these top 10 countries where large numbers of children die due to pneumonia every year.
Khawaja Salman Rafique said that coverage of routine immunisation in Punjab had been increased from 50 percent to 75 percent within a year due to the strict implementation of Chief Minister's Health Road Map Programme. He said that E-VACCs system had been successfully implemented to monitor the performance of vaccinators; E-VACCs II had also been introduced in which vaccinator was bound to upload the photograph of the child through Android Phone which he had vaccinated. He said that PITB had designed the whole system. Salman Rafique said the Punjab government would fully support the legislation on Mandatory Vaccination and Protection of Health Workers and parliamentarians would be taken into confidence. The meeting urged upon the MPAs to table a resolution as soon as possible to initiate mandatory vaccination in the country.