PESHAWAR, Oct 14: The World Health Organization (WHO) has expressed serious concern over the poor anti-polio vaccination campaign in the North Waziristan Agency, official sources told Dawn.

The world health agency on Sept 3, in a letter addressed to NWFP Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah, expressed concern over the recent polio immunization campaign in the North Waziristan Agency.

Appreciating the governor’s personal interest in the campaign it asked for more concerted efforts to put an end to the dreaded disease.

Sent from the office of the WHO’s Islamabad-based representative, copies of the letter were also addressed to the Federal Health Minister Mohammad Nasir Khan, NWFP Health Minister Inayatullah Khan and Director Health Services Fata Dr Mohammad Iqbal.

It said the detection of one case in North Waziristan and two related cases in the Lakky Marwat district in April had prompted the WHO to send a senior official as observer of the immunization campaign.

The visit of the WHO’s official, the letter added, had further increased the world health agency’s apprehensions regarding the working of the immunization campaign.

It said that according to the field report, compiled by the observer, half of the supervisors and vaccination teams than required were being used during the drive. 

It said one out of four children were missed in the September campaign and children of the North Waziristan Agency on an average had received less than half the number of polio vaccine doses as compared to other districts of the province over the last two years.

The letter, quoting its observer, said that recently several children who appeared to be suffering from polio were not reported to the surveillance system which suggested the fact that the problem was worse in North Waziristan than previously believed.

It urged the provincial governor to take notice of the situation and recommended direct involvement of the political agent in overseeing the anti-polio vaccination campaign.

Officials of the Health Department also informed that last month the WHO had sent a team of consultants that held meetings with officials concerned to review the plans for the October’s campaign.

They expressed concern over the growing number of polio cases in settled areas by stating that southern parts of the Frontier province were lagging behind the rest of the country in polio eradication progress.

It stressed the need for a well-orchestrated campaign for October in the North Waziristan Agency.