ISLAMABAD: Polio teams on Tuesday visited most of the slums and rural areas of the federal capital to evaluate the polio vaccination campaign after Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi took notice of the polio environmental samples which have been testing positive for eight months straight.

During their visits, the team observed a lack of facilities in the slums and rural areas which is why people were going to quacks, leading to low immunity levels in children.

The testing of samples from sewage from an area is the parameter by which the success of a polio campaign is measured. A positive sample also means the children in the area have weak immunity and are at risk of the disease.

“The prime minister chaired a meeting of the National Task Force on Polio on Aug 25 and took strict notice of the situation. He said positive samples of polio in the capital are unacceptable,” an official of the National Health Services ministry said.

Polio teams visited slums and rural areas to evaluate campaign’s effectiveness

“The PM directed Finance Minister Punjab Dr Aisha Ghaus to look into the matter and a coordination committee with representation from Islamabad and Punjab was formed for the eradication of the virus and this is why the teams visited most areas of the city on Tuesday,” he said.

Talking to Dawn, National Coordinator for Emergency Operation Centre Dr Rana Safdar said the programme has been trying to eradicate the virus from the twin cities.

“Because the issue is more prevalent in the slums, a survey of 15 slums was conducted and all the children were registered. The second step taken was the hiring of polio workers, mostly students, as government employees were not available. Another issue we were facing was that women workers were not available,” he said.

He said the Capital Development Authority has now provided 400 workers when they first had 200 and that 150 teams have been deputed in different areas.

According to an official statement, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq also visited a number of slums and noticed the gaps in the provision of routine immunisation against nine deadly diseases in the area and issued directions that all children must be immunised without fail.

The senator is said to have visited homes, interacted with parents and community elders in Pakistan Town, H9, Koral and other areas.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2017