KHAR: The three-day anti-polio campaign ended peacefully in Bajaur Agency on Wednesday, setting a precedent of vaccinating 97 per cent children, and bringing down the refusal cases.

Talking to reporters here, agency surgeon Dr Zakir Hussain said that as a result of the foolproof security arrangements for the health workers, the immunisation drive completed without any untoward incident.

He appreciated the local administration and the security forces for extending extraordinary security measures to health workers during the drive and said that response of the local people was also very positive which encouraged the workers to perform their duties with satisfaction .

Replying to a question, Dr Hussain said that Bajaur had remained free of polio since November 2012. “No polio case has been reported in our region in the past two years and we hope that the agency would be declared from of polio disease soon,” he added.

The current campaign was the first of anti-polio efforts in the agency during the last six months, as attacks on health workers and the security personnel guarding them halted vaccination for months. Several Levies officials were either killed or injured in such attacks.

The last of such attacks took place in Chargoo area of Salarzai tehisl on November 11, killing the political tehsildar and three Levies men and injuring two others.

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2014