KP launches September polio drive to vaccinate 7.3m children
“KP launched its September anti-polio campaign, targeting 7.3 million children from Sept 21-27, with 35,000 teams deployed across the province to administer vacc…”
PPESHAWAR —Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday launched its September anti-polio campaign with a target of administering polio drops to 7.3 million children across the province from September 21 to 27.
Health Minister Khaleeq ur Rehman and Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah jointly inaugurated the campaign in the presence of Health Secretary Fayyaz Ali Shah, officials of the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for Polio and international partner organisations.
Around 35,000 polio teams, along with security personnel and officials of relevant departments, will take part in the week-long campaign to reach children across the province. Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister Khaleeq ur Rehman urged parents and communities to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that every eligible child receives polio drops.
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He also called upon social media activists to help create awareness about the importance of polio vaccination. Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah said the three polio cases reported in the province this year had emerged from areas where security-related challenges had restricted access to children.
He said the government had conducted three special vaccination campaigns during the past three months in Upper South Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan, North Waziristan and Bannu to improve coverage in hard-to-reach areas. The chief secretary said the provincial government was also strengthening healthcare services in affected areas.
Measures included the recruitment and deployment of 2,400 doctors, finalisation and procurement of medicines under the MCC list and outsourcing the management of 72 hospitals in remote areas to the private sector.
He said patients at these hospitals would continue to receive free treatment, with the government bearing the cost, while a roadmap had also been prepared to improve coordination of routine immunisation. Shahab Ali Shah said the risk of poliovirus transmission remained a regional concern due to the presence of the virus in neighbouring Afghanistan.
He urged the media and social media users to promote awareness, particularly in poor and underserved communities, and help ensure that children in these areas received essential health services.
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