PESHAWAR: The government has warned to take action against the staff of UN agencies if poliovirus is not eliminated from the sewerage water in Peshawar, one of the three countrywide districts where the virus circulates.

The warning came from the prime minister’s focal person for polio, Baber bin Atta, at a meeting held with Unicef and WHO staff at Nishtar Hall here on Saturday. He also said that UN was fully responsible for eradication of the virus in Peshawar as the WHO and Unicef ran the complete campaign.

“The government wants results,” he told staff of both the agencies, according to sources. They added that the focal person said that government was concerned about virus circulation and wanted full-fledged drive in all 97 union councils including the 18 declared high-risk areas.

“The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) lays emphasis on elimination of poliovirus not on case count, therefore, focus should be laid on making water sample negative,” he said.

Focal person to prime minister on polio says govt wants results

Under a changed strategy the UN had hired about 3,000 female community health workers and 250 UC polio officers including district health communication officers and UC communication officers and UC polio eradication officers. “The deputy commissioner, who has been assigned tasked under National Emergency Plan for Polio to spearhead the campaign, lacks powers to take action against the absent staff,” said sources.

They said that Peshawar deputy commissioner also complained that there was no performance criterion and he could not take any action against the Unicef and WHO staff as both the agencies ran the campaign in the district.

On Sunday, the deputy commissioner ordered the officials to cut honorarium of the union council polio eradication chairpersons for under-performance. In a circular, he said that positive sewerage water sample for the last more than one year despite presence of sizeable workforce in polio eradication campaign, action against relevant officials would be taken in shape of deduction from their dues.

The circular said that 25 per cent of the total Rs12,500 honorarium per campaign wouldn’t be paid to those, who did not show up at the pre-campaign meeting of the UPEC while they would lose 20 per cent for staying away from morning assembly and 30 per cent for not attending the union council level meetings held during the campaign.

The administrative officers would get 25 per cent less for their failure to comply with the directives. The district health officer and assistant district health officers have also been directed to inspect anti-polio activities and make sure that all children get the oral polio vaccine.

According to the letter, sent by deputy commissioner to the officials concerned, more than 10,000 children remain unimmunised in every anti-polio drive owing to absence of CHWs as they are not bothered to cover the missed children and so is the case with union council monitors, who are not willing to take care of the areas, lying out of their domain.

“There are reports of fake finger marking. Currently, no mechanism exists to hold anyone accountable for poor performance. We can neither appreciate good performers nor guide bad ones and “passing the buck” has become a normal practice,” it said.

The circular said that a proper criterion should be devised to emulate staff’s performance and pave the way for creation of a healthy environment for the sake of betterment of the programme.

Sources said that the workers involved in anti-polio campaign didn’t come under the domain of district administration.

They said that four UN polio workers have been relieved of their responsibilities from Peshawar district due to poor performance.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2018