MINGORA/MANSEHRA/BANNU: The Swat district administration on Tuesday warned that parents refusing anti-polio drops to their children would be proceeded against under the relevant laws.

Talking to Dawn here, Swat deputy commissioner Mehmood Aslam Wazir said that a four-day special anti-polio campaign was launched here the other day in five of the seven tehsils of Swat district, including Babozai, Barikot, Kabal, Matta and Khwazakhela, where concerned assistant commissioners were supervising the drive.

He said that the refusing parents would be first convinced to get their children vaccinated against the deadly disease, and if they didn’t budge, then appropriate action would be taken against them under relevant law.

Mr Wazir said that performance of the assistant commissioners in the anti-polio drive would also be assessed and the same would be mentioned in their annual confidential report.

“The administration will take action against the officials that failed to discharge their duty accordingly,” he warned.

The deputy commissioner informed that a doctor at BHU Banjot and Amankot union council secretary had been suspended for negligence in duty during the drive. He added that two policemen had also been sent to quarter-guard for skipping duty.

Meanwhile, Dr Rahmat Elahi, focal person for anti-polio campaigns, said that 908 teams had been formed to vaccinate a total of 366,120 children during the four-day anti-polio campaign in the district.

He said that during the last campaign 82 refusal cases had been recorded in Swat which were covered later on. He maintained that of the 15 refusal cases reported so far in the ongoing anti-polio campaign, eight had been covered and the rest would be covered soon.

Meanwhile, as many as 246,000 children would be vaccinated during the three-day special anti-polio drive launched in Mansehra district the other day following emergence of a positive case in adjoining Torghar district recently.

Forty-seven union councils of total 59 would be covered in the drive ending on Wednesday.

“We hope to achieve the target in the two tehsils, Mansehra and Oghi, as Balakot tehsil is not included in the special drive, which was launched after the National Institute of Health confirmed a polio case in the neighbouring Torghar district,” said Tariq Hussain, district vaccination superintendent, while speaking to media men on Tuesday.

Mr Hussain said that a total of 685 teams, including 598 mobile, 63 fixed and 24 transit, had been constituted to reach every child in the district, adding that performance of the teams would be properly monitored through 149 area in-charges.

He said that the district administration had also provided vehicles and other logistic support to help the health teams reach hilly and inaccessible areas in the district.

Meanwhile, the district administration, Bannu, decided to take strict action against people refusing to get polio vaccine administered to their children in order to tackle the growing refusal cases in the region.

In this regard, deputy commissioner Mohammad Ayaz Khan has imposed Section 144 for a month in 10 union councils of Bannu district. These union councils include Noorarh, Mambati Barakzai, Mettakhel, Mamahkhel, Mamashkhel, Lawan Dardareeza, Jandhokhel, Daud Shah, Kaki-I and Kaki-II.

Through an official order the deputy commissioner asked the police to arrest the parents found refusing vaccination to their children below five years of age. It said that the government was determined to make the country free of polio as soon as possible.

He regretted that some elements were refusing to administer polio vaccines to their children. He said that lives of millions of children were at stake due to the growing refusal cases.

Mr Khan said that this decision was taken in the best interest of millions of children. He warned that stern action would be taken against violators of the directives.

Sources in the health department said that about 7,000 refusal cases were reported in Bannu only. They said that a large number of children of the displaced families from North Waziristan had been deprived of vaccination due to refusal by their parents or frequent migration from one place to another. Nine polio cases have been reported in Bannu so far this year.

The ulema in Bannu have urged the parents to get anti-polio vaccine administered to their children as there was no ingredient in the vaccines which was haram (forbidden). The ulema have also asked them that it was their duty to save their children from the crippling disease.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2014