Korangi, Baldia, SITE THOs sacked for neglect in polio drives

Karachi
The Town Health Officers (THOs) of Korangi, Baldia and SITE were finally removed from their posts on Wednesday after the provincial Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) complained to the Sindh health department about their “negligence and unsatisfactory performance” during the recent polio vaccination drives in the respective areas and asked for their immediate removal.
As per details, Dr Muhammad Hussain of Korangi, Dr Abdul Haq Bhutto of Baldia and Dr Aziz Baloch of SITE towns had been removed two weeks ago and health secretary Saeed Manjnejo had also issued a notification to the effect, but the officials had continued on their posts on verbal assurances of Commissioner Karachi Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui who had also written to the health department against their removal from offices.
“After the notification issued by health secretary for the THOs removal, the Commissioner had wrote a letter to the secretary with a request to let the officials stay,” Director Health Karachi Dr Zafar Aijaz told The News. “However, the secretary never replied to his letter. Finally, the three officials were relieved of their charge today.”
Dr Aijaz said the officers had continued on their post for the past two weeks on verbal assurance from the Commissioner. When the notification issued by the secretary was not cancelled by the authorities, they were finally asked to relinquish charge and report back to the health department.
Meanwhile, an official of the EOC Sindh told The News on the condition of anonymity, that the EOC had lodged a formal complaint against these three THOs for their negligence and unsatisfactory performance during the recent vaccination drives in their areas. He said the EOC had requested the health department to replace them with competent and dedicated workers.
“Our prime concern is reaching each and every child under the age of five years and give him or her repeated doses of the polio vaccine,” the EOC official said. “If we are unable to do that due to the negligence of an official, our entire efforts and resources are wasted. Such negligence is unacceptable.”
He also confirmed that despite orders for the removal of these THOs two weeks ago, they had continued to work on their posts because the Karachi Commissioner had been supporting them. “The Commissioner had written a letter to the health secretary urging him not to remove these THOs from their posts,” he said.
This was despite a meeting between the EOC Sindh Coordinator Dr Usman Chachar and the Commissioner, when the latter was apprised of the poor performance and dereliction of duty on part of the three sacked THOs.
Subsequently, the officials were finally relieved of their charges on Wednesday by Director Health Karachi Dr Zafar Aijaz, with directions to their immediate subordinates to take additional charge till permanent appointments are made by the Sindh government.