PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has ordered early action against the people responsible for polio vaccine scare and torching of a basic health unit in the provincial capital on April 22.

The orders to the relevant departments for the purpose were issued during a meeting chaired by chief secretary Mohammad Salim Khan here on Thursday.

The meeting was called to discuss the findings of an inquiry conducted by the district administration into the vaccine scare and Mashokhel BHU arson attack and take steps for the smooth holding of vaccination campaigns.

The inquiry report declared that principals of some private schools and prayer leaders of mosques in Mashokhel village incited the residents to the torching of BHU and that anti-vaccination announcements were made from mosques on loudspeakers.

Promises tight security for vaccinators

The chief secretary directed the home, police, health and other relevant departments to jointly make a strategy for action against those named in FIRs and inquiry report for spreading disinformation about anti-polio vaccine and burning down BHU.

The officials, who attended the meeting, told Dawn that the health department had held an inquiry two days after a false alarm was raised about anti-polio vaccine prompting the people to take children to hospitals and a mob torched the sole BHU in Mashokhel area, and named the culpable school owners and principals, elected representatives and individuals.

They said the chief secretary asked all relevant departments to ensure that all those responsible for the April 22 incident are punished and such things don’t happen in future.

The officials said health workers were struggling to visit the area for administering anti-polio drops to children due to hostile environment as the residents were opposed to vaccination.

They said more than a month had passed but no action had been taken against those, who incited people to violence and tried to discredit the vaccination programme.

The officials feared that further delay in action against the culpable people would erode the people’s confidence in the entire vaccination programme as those hostile to the anti-polio vaccine would gain more strength and block future campaigns more forcefully.

The chief secretary asked the relevant departments to show no mercy for those blocking the children’s vaccination saying the programme meant to eliminate vaccine-preventable childhood diseases is run across the country in collaboration with the UN agencies.

The officials said officials of police, health department and district administration to introduce a mechanism to crack down on anti-vaccine elements.

They said the chief secretary also ordered the provision of tight security to vaccinators to help them perform duty fearlessly.

He also asked the departments to strictly follow the recommendations made in the inquiry report and update his office.

The chief secretary assured them of all possible support and cooperation for the vaccination of children against disabilities.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2019