RAWALPINDI: The health department has been directed to involve residents in the coming polio vaccination drive, which will begin in the district on August 22.

The orders were given by District Coordination Officer (DCO) Talat Mehmood Gondal on Wednesday during a meeting called to ensure the safety of vaccination drive workers and discuss how to deal with refusals.

Additional District Collector General Nazia Parveen Sudhan, Executive Health Officer Dr Arshad Ali Sabir and other senior officials from the local administration were also present.

Health officials told the meeting that 1,950 mobile teams had been formed, and 111 transit points and 269 fixed centres established in various union councils.

The DCO warned that negligence during the drive will not be tolerated and said all departments have to play their role in making the drive a success. He advised all the departments to appoint a focal person for the drive for better coordination.

The DCO said the government has provided protection for polio vaccination workers in the province and the local police have been requested to ensure workers in their areas are safe.

He added that political figures and influential locals should be involved in the campaign, especially in areas where refusal cases are more common.

“Most of the refusal cases come from smaller towns and villages, as well as some places in the garrison city, especially places where more Pakhtun families live, and places where people do not know of the importance of polio vaccinations,” a senior health official told Dawn.

He said that there was still a need to pay more attention to areas where people from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata live, even though the samples taken from Rawalpindi tested negative last time.

The health department is short on staff as most of its workers are involved in the anti-dengue drive, he said, adding that the anti-dengue drive will be overtaken by other departments once the polio vaccination drive starts.

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2016