HYDERABAD, Jan 21: The arrangements for the “sub-national immunization day”, have been finalized, under which 6,66,668 children below the age of five years will be administered anti-Polio drops in the Hyderabad district.

This was said by the district executive officer (health), Hyderabad, Dr Qadir Bux Memon, while briefing newsmen about the anti-Polio campaign, which would start from Jan 22 and end on Jan 24, here on Monday.

He said 1632 teams, including 1415 mobile and 217 fixed teams, had been constituted to administer the Polio drops at the health centres and hospitals of 103 union councils of the district. The WHO representatives would supervise and monitor the anti-Polio campaign.

Dr Memon appealed to the parents to keep their children at home so that no child below the age of five years should be left out during the administration of the drops. In case any child was left out, the parents must get in touch with the nearest health centres or hospital.

He expressed the hope that by June 2002, Polio would be completely eliminated from Hyderabad district.

Meanwhile, the project director, Expanded Programme for Immunization, Dr Shamsun Nisa Ansari, has said that during the immunization programme, Polio drops would be administered to the children in the selected union councils from Jan 22 to Jan 24 in Karachi, Shikarpur, Jaccobabad, Badin, Dadu, Sanghar, Ghotki, Larkana, Thatta and Mirpurkhas.

She said that war against Polio had been going on for the last many years and expressed the hope that Polio would be completely eliminated from the province. She urged the EDOs (health) and district monitoring teams to make the campaign a success.

The World Health Organization (WHO) consultant for polio, Dr Domicina, WHO representatives, Dr Azhar, Dr Mohammad Bux Bhurgari and Dr Ashfaq Bhutto were also present on the occasion.