PESHAWAR: A three-day anti-polio vaccination campaign will start in the Federally Administered Tribal Area from today (Monday), in which 1,036,309 children below five years of age would be vaccinated.

The oral polio vaccination (OPV) campaign will be followed by a catch-up drive. A total of 4,239 teams comprising 3,854 mobile, 284 fixed and 101 transit have been formed for the purpose.

Coordinator of Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Fata Dr Fida Mohammad Wazir said that every effort would be made to ensure stoppage of the polio transmission in the tribal region, this year, according to a press release issued here on Sunday.

He said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Engr Iqbal Zafar Jhagra had shown personal interest in polio eradication programme in Fata. He said high level engagement had paid the dividends as no case had been reported in Fata during last nine months.

Mr Wazir praised the dedication of polio workers, especially those visiting houses under extreme conditions.

In a recently held Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting in Islamabad, its chairman Jean-Marc Oliv praised the remarkable progress made against polio in Fata in 2016 and 2017.

However, he emphasised the need for engaging more women teams, decreasing the number of missed children and improving routine immunisation in the region.

Earlier, a phase-wise IPV-OPV campaign was launched in Fata in February and March, this year, with remarkable success as external evaluation adjudged the coverage over 95 per cent.

Dr Wazir said special IPV-OPV campaign in Shaktoi area of South Waziristan had also been successfully completed during the current month.

He added that Shaktoi was inaccessible since 2012 and the KP governor in coordination with the Pak Army made it possible to reach out to the children.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2017