PESHAWAR: The Peshawar district administration has decided to send behind bars the parents who have declined vaccination of their children against polio.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Deputy Commissioner Riaz Khan Mehsud here on Friday.

A spokesman for the DC office said the decision to arrest the parents under 3 MPO was final because the refusing parents were not ready to cooperate with the polio teams. He said though the refusal cases across the district numbered 1,600, half of them had already been addressed.

Talking to Dawn after the meeting, EPI in-charge Dr Ikramullah, said the refusal cases were reported in different parts of the provincial metropolis, particularly on its outskirts. He said a large number of refusals occurred in Badhber, Bazidkhel and Matani, where the people did so in protest against lack of healthcare facilities.

“Many people are of the view that while routine medical facilities are not available in their areas the government is only focusing on anti-polio vaccination,” he said and added efforts were made to facilitate the people by arranging free medical camps in their localities.

Similarly, he said the health department, the district administration and international donor agencies were pursuing the parents to shun their misconceptions about the polio vaccine.

Dr Ikram said data about the refusal cases was being collected and the guilty people would face jail.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2015