SWAT: The first anti-polio campaign of 2023 began across various districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday amid tight security to vaccinate the targeted children without any unpleasant incident.

“Strict measures have been taken for security of polio teams to ensure safe and effective inoculation of children,” said Malakand regional police officer Mohammad Sajjad Khan while speaking to mediapersons after a five-day anti-polio campaign was launched in Malakand division.

He said about 12,603 security personnel had been deployed to provide security to polio teams. He said 3,342 police officers and officials were performing security duty in Swat, 1,163 in Buner, 1,286 in Shangla, 2,263 in Lower Dir, 1,574 in Upper Dir, 533 in Upper Chitral, 900 in Lower Chitral and 1,542 in Bajaur.

The Malakand RPO also appealed to parents to cooperate with the anti-polio teams to get their children vaccinated against the deadly ailment.

In Haripur, a four-day anti-polio drive kicked off on Monday.

“Over 900 vaccination teams would inoculate children amid tight security,” district health officer Dr Munawar Afridi told mediapersons.

He said children would also be given vitamin A drops to help strengthen their immune system.

Meanwhile, district police officer Imran Shahid said 700 policemen had been deployed for security of polio teams, while contingents of Frontier Constabulary would remain on standby to help police in case of an emergency.

In Bajaur, the authorities further enhanced security of polio workers by deploying additional personnel to avoid any unpleasant incident during the five-day anti-polio campaign.

As per the revised security plan, a total of 1,542 policemen have been deployed to escort vaccinators. Earlier, the number of policemen for security duty was 1,200, according to a statement.

The statement said district police officer Shaukat Ali also visited different areas to check security arrangements for the immunisation campaign.

The statement said 240,000 children would be vaccinated during the campaign.

In Lower Dir, a three-day anti-polio drive started on Tuesday.

Additional deputy commissioner Abdul Wali Khan and district health officer Dr Irshad Rughani opened the campaign in Timergara.

Talking to journalists, the DHO said 1,237 teams had been formed to vaccinate 333,524 children below five years of age.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2023