PESHAWAR: The provincial health department will set up health camps to strengthen routine immunisation as well maternal and child health in southern districts with focus on polio eradication.

The provincial government is facing problems in areas located close to Fata as the districts near Khyber, South and North Waziristan agencies, where the virus has been in circulation since 2012, have transmitted poliovirus to local children. To cope with the virus circulation, a 9-month programme is being launched in Dera Ismail Khan, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, South Waziristan Agency, FR DI Khan and Tank to improve routine vaccination programme and safeguard children against poliomyelitis.

Besides immunisation, child promotion and development are also components of the programme.

A similar programme carried out in Bajaur Agency had showed improvement in immunisation and mother and child health indicators due to which the provincial government is replicating the same project through the Prime Foundation.

The foundation also executed the project in Bajaur Agency in 2012 after which the vaccination rose from 27 to 89 per cent.

The geographical block will be covered by permanent health camps where specialist doctors from Peshawar Medical College, Bannu Medical and Gomal Medical Colleges will provide consultative services to the children and women. Under the programme, the provincial government will be collaborating with the Prime Foundation.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has recorded nine of 22 polio cases registered in the country during 2015. It has been in global spotlight for being home to poliovirus. In hard and difficult areas, the local staff wasn’t able to vaccinate the local as well as children coming from nearby Fata. Under the programme, to be finalised in a meeting on Tuesday, the patients will be offered incentives in the shape of free medicines, diagnostic services and checkups to encourage them to visit the health camps.

Sources said that the government realised that door-to-door campaigns had not been successful in eradication of polio and decided to adopt a strategy that had been tested previously.

So far the provincial government was carrying out vaccination on its own and it would be first time to enter into agreement with a private sector professional organisation to deal with immunisation and mother and child health, they said. Social mobilisation, prevention and creating awareness about diseases among the local people were also parts of the camps.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which started injectable polio vaccination last month, immunised children in high-risk union councils in Peshawar and Bannu and it wanted Prime Foundation to administer IPV to children in designated districts, sources said.

South Waziristan and Lakki Marwat have recorded one polio case each while Tank registered two polio cases in 2015. The programme is aimed at improving immunisation and control nine vaccine-preventable childhood ailments. “Date for the proposed programme is yet to be announced,” Dr Saeed Anwar, director maternal and childcare immunisation project, told Dawn.

He said that they would support government in healthcare provision to the people of the area with focus on immunisation. According to him, the project will be implemented in consultation with the communities where patients will be entitled to free tests, medicines and consultation.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2015

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