Anti-Polio Drives Set to Kick Off in Punjab, Sindh

News Desk

Faisalabad: A new week-long phase of anti-polio initiatives is scheduled to commence in select areas of Punjab and Sindh starting from February 26, continuing through March 3rd.

It is reported that hundreds of thousands of children will receive polio vaccinations across various districts of the provinces.

In the Faisalabad region, a total of 4,869 teams, comprising fixed, transit, and mobile units, will administer polio drops to over 1.5 million children under the age of five.

The polio personnel will conduct door-to-door visits to ensure widespread coverage, reaching children in various settings such as bus stands, hospitals, public areas, railway stations, and private transport hubs.

To assess the preparations, a meeting of the District Polio Eradication Committee was convened, chaired by Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Dr Shahab Aslam.

Dr Aslam stressed the utilization of all available resources to ensure the campaign’s success and emphasized adherence to the micro-plan. He underscored the significance of each polio drive and urged staff to fulfill their duties diligently. Health CEO Dr Asfand Yar provided an overview of the campaign arrangements during the meeting.

Meanwhile, an anti-polio campaign is also set to be launched in districts of Sindh.

In Hyderabad, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Zahid Hussain Rind of Shaheed Benazirabad presided over a meeting to assess preparations for the national anti-polio campaign scheduled in the district from February 26 to March 3.

Furthermore, Commissioner Zahid Hussain Rind highlighted that the national anti-polio campaign officially commenced in the district on February 26th. Efforts have been intensified to ensure the successful administration of polio vaccines to all children under the age of five, adhering to the established targets.

The Deputy Commissioner emphasized the need for further enhancing the micro-plan of the national anti-polio campaign, considering the prevalent polio virus in the province. He instructed the health department officers to ensure teams are adequately trained.

During the meeting, District Health Officer Dr Asadullah Dahri and Polio Focal Person Dr. Allah Bakhsh Rajpar informed attendees about the organization of a seven-day national anti-polio campaign in Shaheed Benazirabad district from February 26th to March 3rd.

A total of 420,756 children under five years of age in the district will receive both vitamin A supplementation and polio vaccination. For this purpose, 1,192 teams have been appointed, including 53 transit, 54 fixed, and 31 SMT teams.

Asif Arain, Additional Director of Social Welfare, Muhammad Sabir Qureshi, Deputy Director of Information, Ghulam Abbas Gorahu, and health department officials were also present at the meeting.

Divisional Commissioner Sukkur, Fayyaz Hussain Mahesar, emphasized on Tuesday the imperative that no child under the age of five should miss out on receiving the polio vaccine during the anti-polio campaign commencing from February 26th. He stressed the importance of closely monitoring the activities of mobile, transit, and fixed teams on the ground.

These remarks were made during his address at a meeting of the Divisional Anti-Polio Committee held at his office on Tuesday.

Mahesar underscored the debilitating effects of polio on children and the critical necessity of administering polio vaccine drops to safeguard them from the disease. He urged parents to cooperate with the polio teams.

He reiterated that polio is a lethal illness, underscoring the requirement for every child below the age of five to receive the anti-polio vaccine during each phase of the campaign.

He instructed the relevant officers to collaborate with their District Health Officers (DHOs) to devise a meticulous microplan and ensure all preliminary arrangements are completed under their supervision for the successful execution of the national anti-polio campaign.