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Three-day polio drive kicks off in Charsadda
CHARSADDA: A three-day polio campaign kicked off amid tight security arrangements on Monday in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda district.
According to a source, the drive is aimed at vaccinating 255,000 children across the district.
A total of 675 teams of Lady Health Workers (LHWs) have been designated for the campaign while 146 supervisors will be monitoring the district-wide drive which is to end Wednesday.
As part of the security measures taken up for a smooth execution of the drive, Deputy Commissioner (DC) Charsadda has imposed under Section 144 of the criminal procedure code a ban on the display of weapons and pillion-riding of motorbikes throughout the district.
According to sources, a total of 1,300 police personnel have also been employed to provide security to the polio teams as they carry out the drive.
As per a source, a four-day polio drive was also kicked off in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Kohat district on Monday. A total of 640 policemen have been assigned the security of the polio teams.
Militant groups often attack polio teams as they see vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage. There are also long running rumours about polio drops causing infertility.
Earlier on Saturday, unknown gunmen opened fire at a vehicle carrying a team of polio workers in Khyber Agency, killing the driver and leaving one polio volunteer injured.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria. Efforts to eradicate it have been seriously hampered by the deadly targeting of vaccination teams in recent years.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) had declared that Pakistan is responsible for nearly 80 per cent of polio cases reported globally and had imposed strict travel restrictions on Pakistan last year to prevent the possible spread of the polio virus to other countries.
Comments (8) Closed
The Pakistan army needs to do the vaccinating rather than putting women at risk, guarded by sitting ducks. Army intelligence also should question neighbors to find these killers. Let the people know they are supposed to be part of the republic. The army should arrest the wife beaters and intimidators while they are at it
Great news for Pakistani people .keep it up !
wish time time no one loses life for providing inadequate security...
one of the greatest news that I have heard in recent years is that India has become Polio free. wishing pakistan the best too. may you conquer this stupid disease soon.
These polio workers should get higher pay and for their guards as well. Only reason for this increase in cases is the TTP killing these social workers. And why is the TTP killing them. Because some countries spy agency used a fake polio programe to hunt for a terrorist. It did not work, as he was caught due to other means, but we were left with this problem. Thanks most ally of ally. Glad you are moving over to our neighbour.
The kid getting vaccine is more interested in looking at camera
Pray for the success of the initiative and also for the safety of all those who participate therein.
With due respect to women's right to choose whatever they wish to wear,I am asking this question out of cultural curiosity, How do people identify workers who wear hijaab? How do people decide if she is an authorized worker without matching her face with her identity card?