RAWALPINDI: Punjab Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator and head of the polio programme in Punjab Khizer Afzaal Chaudhry has asked the Rawalpindi District Health Authority to ensure vaccination of children who are missed in polio campaigns.

In a meeting held in the commissioner office of Rawalpindi on Tuesday to review polio campaign, Mr Khizer asked to work for the national cause to eliminate the polio from the country especially in Punjab.

District administration and District Health Authority officials and polio eradication partners participated in the meeting.

“Polio eradication efforts are facing a stiff challenge in Rawalpindi. The district is the second home to populations arriving from Afghanistan and all over the country. So, it is absolutely critical to focus on recording and vaccinating all children who have missed their vaccination campaigns,” underscored the coordinator.

During the meeting, the head of polio programme in Punjab laid emphasis on registration and profiling of high-risk mobile communities.

“Accurate data of mobile communities leaves less chance of children being missed and could help in resolution of issues which could otherwise have been overlooked,” urged the EOC coordinator.

Mr Khizer called on the district administration to ensure that polio teams were well versed in local languages especially Pashtu so that there is no language barrier and all children are accessed and vaccinated.

He instructed the district administration to ensure data collection was up to the mark and supervisors needed to make sure that only authentic data is entered into the system.

During the meeting the EOC coordinator urged districts to provide security to transit polio teams. He urged the district health authority to submit a comprehensive report on provision of security to polio teams.

Speaking on the occasion, district administration officials ensured that upcoming anti-polio campaign would be top quality. He cautioned the officials to remain vigilant during polio eradication campaigns.

Although Punjab is free of polio case since October 2020, recent sewage sample results from Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur and Sialkot have been of much concern.

The presence of polio virus must send an urgent message to parents to ensure that children are administered two polio drops under every immunisation drive.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2022