ISLAMABAD: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government provided the federal departments concerned on Friday details of the `Sehat Ka Ittehad’ programme and asked the Ministry of National Health Services (NHS) and Prime Minister’s Polio Eradication Cell to cooperate in its plan aimed at preventing children from falling victim to the poliovirus.

In the first letter sent by the province to the federal government after the launch of the programme, a copy of which is available with Dawn, KP Health Minister Shahram Khan Tarakai expressed the hope that the ministry, World Health Organisation, Unicef and other partners would cooperate in delivering operational plans for the polio eradication campaign.

In the letter addressed to Minister NHS Saira Afzal Tarar and PM’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication MNA Ayesha Raza Farooq, Mr Tarakai said that at a meeting of the apex committee he had emphasised the need for a joint plan and monitoring of polio campaigns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).

He said that the objectives of the Sehat Ka Ittehad programme were to get optimum benefit of low transmission session. The programme would be conducted in 12 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — Peshawar, Charsadda, Mardan, Swabi, Nowshera, Bannu, D.I. Khan, Karak, Kohat, Hangu, Lakki Marwat and Tank — and three agencies of Fata — Khyber, South Waziristan and North Waziristan.

Multiple high quality simultaneous campaigns would be held that would ensure interruption of the polio virus in the region. Additional components, such as health camps and inactivated poliomyelitis vaccine, which is given through injection, would be part of the campaigns.

Published in Dawn January 24th , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play