DERA GHAZI KHAN: The majority of infants in the district are prone to contracting deadly deceases as they are allegedly not being vaccinated against diseases in the tribal areas as well as most of the settled areas.

Sources in the district health department told Dawn the department was not properly following the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).

They alleged the district health department had sent bogus reports about routine vaccination and vaccination under EPI to its provincial health authorities .

Former MPA and an elder of Buzdar tribe Usman Khan Buzdar told Dawn the infants from Tuman Buzdar were deprived of routine vaccination.

He claimed the far-off areas like Jhandi, Marri, Bail Pathar and Yak Bai were not visited by vaccination staff. He said only anti-polio drive was being run by the health authorities.

Chief of Qaisrani tribe Mir Badshah Qaisrani had a similar story to tell about Tuman Qaisrani .

Newly-elected chairman of Union Council Pir Adil, Pir Nadir Shah Kazmi, alleged children in his union council were deprived of the routine vaccination. He said the situation was similar in other union councils of settled areas like Paki, Marhata and Tibbi Chhabari.

A large portion of the infants from the urban union councils of DG Khan were never visited by vaccination staff while the vaccination facility at teaching hospital of Ghazi Khan Medical College had no properly maintained.

The Border Military Police (BMP) coordinates with Health department in its health campaigns in tribal areas. The lines officer of Border Military Police Dera Ghazi Khan, Hassan Khosa, said all the tribal areas had poor health facilities while there was a lack of vaccination of infants under EPI in Tuman Leghari, Khosa, Buzdar, Lound and Qaisrani.

Child Specialist Professor Dr Shakeel Leghari of the Ghazi Khan Medical College told Dawn that the EPI was being properly carried out in whole district, including the tribal areas, as per policy.

When this correspondent contacted District Health Officer Dr Gull Hassan, he claimed the infants were being vaccinated against diseases regularly in the whole district.

Published in Dawn, October 1st, 2016