KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho has expressed her concern over reduced vaccination rate across the province and directed relevant officials to resolve the issues pertaining to the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) services.

She issued necessary directives to the officials while chairing the quarterly EPI review meeting here on Thursday.

During the meeting, the minister was informed that as per her instructions, the EPI services had not been suspended since the Covid-19 outbreak. However, the programme had slowed down in the province during the first two months of the outbreak, though centres remained open.

The minister asked EOC coordinator Fayyaz Abbasi and the EPI programme director Dr Akram Sultan to resolves issues pertaining to vaccinators and warned district health officers (DHOs) that no negligence in the delivery of EPI services would be tolerated.

Dr Akram Sultan briefed the minister about the extended outreach services launched in all districts last month with WHO’s support during which 200,000 children under the age of two were vaccinated against 10 diseases.

He also shared details about the mobile vaccination units now available in high-risk union councils of Karachi.

The programme has been launched with the support of the Indus Health Network.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2020