ISLAMABAD: After getting reports that over 95 per cent of children across the country are vaccinated ­during the current anti-polio campaign, Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Babar bin Atta has changed the evaluation criterion for the provinces.

In future, environmental samples and performance in core reservoirs will be considered as two major indicators for the efficiency.

Also read: 25pc increase in refusals recorded during anti-polio drive in Islamabad

It is pertinent to mention that if the virus is found in the sewage water the environmental sample is called positive, otherwise it is called negative. Sample of sewage water from the area is the basic parameter to see if polio campaigns are being run successfully or not.

A polio case can be reported in any city because of frequent movement of people from one city to another. But if the virus is found in the sewage water it means that the polio campaign in the area could not achieve the target. Moreover, presence of polio virus in sewage water also shows that the immunity level of the children of the area has been decreased and they are at the risk of disease.

There are three core reservoirs of polio virus in the country — Karachi, Pesha­war and Quetta blocks. Over the years virus was eradicated from different areas of the country but those blocks remained a challenge for the polio programme.

Mr Atta, while talking to Dawn, said that in the past it was considered a great success if over 90pc of the children were vaccinated in a certain area.

“Now we have been getting reports from districts and union councils that over 95pc children are vaccinated. However, the virus could not be eradicated. On the other hand a number of cases have been reported in which polio workers were found involved in fake ­registration of children,” he said.

“So now we have decided to change the evaluation criterion and in future provinces would be judged by the number of negative environmental samples and by performance in the core reservoirs,” he said.

“We will listen to the virus and not the numbers because we have to eradicate the virus rather than showing performance by numbers because if numbers are correct, then why is the virus present in the sewage,” he asked.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2018