RAWALPINDI/ISLAMABAD: Week-long polio vaccination campaign was launched in twin-cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday with administrations of the two cities urging parents of under-five children to cooperate with vaccination teams to get rid of the crippling disease.

Rawalpindi Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema inaugurated the anti-polio drive at District Health Authority offices by administering polio drop to a child. The campaign will target more than 750,000 under-five children in the garrison city.

On this occasion, District Health Authority officials and representatives of other departments concerned were also present there. He said that no case of polio has been reported in Rawalpindi since 2010 due to the coordinated efforts of all government departments.

He said that the anti-polio campaign would continue for seven days in Rawalpindi. Mr Cheema directed the authorities concerned that a standard polio campaign should be organised in the district and vaccination should be done at the entry and exit points.

He said that multiple doses of vaccine provide the best protection against the virus, so parents should welcome polio teams until polio is completely eradicated. Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi said that special focus should be given to the high risk union councils of the district.

Rejected and unattended cases should be covered on the same day. While sharing details of the arrangements for this seven-day anti-polio campaign, the health officials said that in this campaign, 786,870 million children be given polio drops.

As many as 245 union council medical officials and 870 area incharges had been appointed for the campaign. Apart from this, 3,675 mobile teams and 330 fixed points and 163 transit points had been established.

The officials added that health officials will monitor the progress of these campaigns and security arrangements had been made for polio workers.

Meanwhile, SSP Operations retired Flt Lt Hafiz Kamran Asghar said all resources were being utilised for the protection of polio teams.

More than 1,400 police personnel have been deployed for the security of 677 teams of polio workers during the anti-polio campaign in Rawalpindi, a police spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon presided over a meeting held on Monday to review the performance of polio teams on the first day.

Additional DC East, District Health Officer, Assistant Commissioners, polio teams and other stakeholders participated in the meeting.

Issuing instructions to the officers, the DC said that achieving the target is the first priority and those children who were not present in their homes on the first day should be given priority so that they can be given anti-polio vaccine.

He also appealed to the residents of Islamabad to cooperate with the polio teams and said that all the children below the age of five years should be vaccinated.

The DC also requested parents to give two drops of polio vaccine to their children and make Pakistan polio-free.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2024