Anti-polio campaign launched in Fata

PESHAWAR: A six-day anti-polio immunisation campaign started in the selected parts of Fata and Frontier Regions (FRs) on Monday.

Secretary Social Sector Waqarul Hassan inaugurated the campaign by vaccinating a child of the target age in a ceremony at Fata Secretariat. Secretary administration and coordination Zaheerul Islam also attended the occasion.

During the campaign, children of selected agencies of Fata will be inoculated both with oral polio vaccine (OPV) as well as inactivated polio vaccine (IPV). 

Children from FR Kohat, Bajaur, Mohmand, Orakzai, Kurram and Khyber agencies will be vaccinated during the campaign. The number of target children, below the age of five years, for OPV, is 590919, whereas 189094 children, of the age up to 23 months, have to be vaccinated with IPV. A total of 607 teams including 184 fixed, 393 outreach and 30 mobile teams will be present in the field to vaccinate the children.

IPV-OPV campaign in South Waziristan Agency, FR Bannu, FR Peshawar, Bara and Jamrud tehsils of Khyber Agency has already been completed recently.The refusal rate during 2015 has also been brought down, resulting in fewer polio cases in Fata and FRs, in comparison to the year 2014. So far, 16 polio cases in Fata and FRs have been recorded this year, including one in North Waziristan, two in South Waziristan, two in FR Peshawar and 11 in Khyber Agency.