October 10, 2007	Wednesday	Ramazan 27, 1428

PESHAWAR, Oct 9: Pakistan and Afghanistan are planning to launch synchronised anti-polio campaigns with a view to getting all the children crossing the Pak-Afghan border vaccinated, according to officials.

According to them, health authorities in Pakistan are gearing up for another anti-polio drive, starting by the end of this month. In this connection, they said, efforts were being made to control the transfer of the polio virus from one country to another through children under five years of age.

They said a meeting of the representatives of the Unicef, the WHO and the Fata’s directorate of health, from the Pakistani side, and officials of the WHO and ministry of health, from the Afghan side, was held on Tuesday in Torkham, Khyber Agency.

“We are planning to devise a mechanism through which we may launch synchronised anti-polio campaigns in the two countries,” an official of the WHO said. “The governments of both the countries are eager to get rid of the dangerous virus as soon as possible and every possible step is being taken to eradicate the crippling ailment,” he remarked.

The representatives of the two countries also visited four vaccination centres at different border locations in the Khyber Agency. They monitored the vaccination work.

The WHO official said an estimated 800 children were being administered oral polio vaccines on both sides of the border every day. Pakistan and Afghanistan are among the four endemic countries that, according to the WHO, were transporting the polio virus to polio-free countries.

“We are trying our best to eliminate the virus from both the countries,” he added.

UN agencies have established nine vaccination points on Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan with a view to ensuring that every child crossing the border had been vaccinated properly.

The immunisation points are located in the Khyber Agency, Mohmand Agency, Bajaur Agency, North and South Waziristan agencies, Kurram Agency and the Chitral-Afghanistan border at the Avando Pass. Every post is being looked after by eight trained vaccinators. These centres, the official said, were responsible for the vaccination of children travelling to and from Afghanistan.

Another round of meeting to discuss the success rate for eradication of the polio virus, joint monitoring teams and synchronised anti-polio campaigns will be held on Wednesday in Torkham, he added.