TAXILA: A monitoring team of the World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the polio vaccination campaign in Taxila and Wah unsatisfactory and ordered to launch the campaign again to achieve the desired goals.

According to sources in health department, polio coverage remained sub-optimal during the five days drive in Taxila and Wah, as revealed by an independent evaluation report on the polio campaign conducted by the WHO.

Sources said under anti polio drive, launched across the Punjab during May 7 to May 11, over 8,000 children were administered drops by the mobile teams.

The quality assurance sampling of eight different lots were presented by health authorities for independent evaluation by the World Health Organisation (WHO), which passed six lots but rejected Taxila and Wah sampling terming anti polio coverage as sub-optimal and termed the drive “unsatisfactory” and health authorities concerned were asked to re-launch the anti polio drive in these area to achieve the desire goals.

Sources further said that as many as seven union councils of Taxila tehsil are declared “high-risk” areas due to settlers from various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and after sewage samples collected from these areas indicated presence of polio virus.

When contacted deputy district officer health Dr Mohammad Farooq said the WHO authorities have termed the drive in Taxila and Wah as unsatisfactory.

He said that the loopholes identified in the report would be plugged and a special drive for tehsil Taxila would be launched to address the issue and make it successful.

He said that polio teams had been issued special instructions that no negligence in this regard would be tolerated.

He urged parents to cooperate with polio teams to help eradicate the virus.

Published in Dawn, May 22nd, 2018