SHANGLA/MANSEHRA: Members of anti-polio teams on Tuesday criticised the Shangla district administration and the health department for not putting off the campaign in harsh weather and sending them to upper parts of the district where up to five feet of snow had accumulated.

They told reporters here that they continued the campaign for the second day in freezing temperatures, while in many parts of the country, including Islamabad, the drive was postponed due to bad weather conditions.

The vaccinators said the district administration and the health department had warned them of deducting their salaries if anyone of them refused to perform the duty.

They said the department paid them only Rs2,300 for weeklong campaign, while they had to buy pencils, markers and other material from their pocket money to run the campaign and visit every household despite harsh weather.

“We raised the issue with the senior staff and had requested them to postpone the drive as they would not be able to visit the upper parts in such tough weather,” a vaccinator told Dawn on condition of unanimity.

Another polio worker said they were not even provided with umbrellas.

A woman vaccinator said during the training the EPI staff had told her that she would work with the senior lady health workers as she and many other under-training workers did not know about the polio duty, but ironically she was assigned two village councils.

A social activist, Mian Siddique Ahmed, said EPI teams were not committed to the polio duty and were only appeasing their seniors.

He said the EPI staff did not provide proper shoes, jackets and other safety equipment to the vaccinators to cope with the intense cold.

EPI district coordinator Dr Wajid Ali said the vaccinators did not object before start of the drive.

Meanwhile, the anti-polio drive in snowbound parts of Mansehra district was suspended until roads were cleared of snow.

“The anti-polio campaign in snowbound union councils has been suspended until the roads are cleared of snow,” Dr Shahzad Ali Khan, the district health officer, told reporters on Tuesday.

He said despite inclement weather polio teams reached Kaghan and Konsh valleys and Siren, but heavy snowfall hampered their efforts.

Dr Khan said the ongoing three-day drive would be followed by another anti-polio activity in snowbound union councils.

Published in Dawn, January 23rd, 2019