LAHORE: Punjab Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator and head of the polio programme in Punjab Khizer Afzaal has called for training needs assessment of district health officials, as the province plans to roll out a special polio campaign in six districts from Monday.

He was chairing a review and readiness meeting on Friday with districts where a polio eradication campaign was concluded recently. District officials where a new polio campaign is starting from Monday also participated in the meeting via video link.

Showing his serious concerns about sub-optimal performance of deputy district health officers (DDHOs), he said that a complete report of their performance in polio campaigns will be submitted to the chief secretary.

“If DDHOs’ performance is below par, the results in polio campaigns will also be sub-optimal. They need to go to the field to check microplans and meet with their field teams,” Mr Afzaal said, adding that a special polio eradication campaign has been planned in six districts, keeping in view polio virus circulation. The districts include Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Lodhran, Bahawalpur, and Muzaffargarh.

During the meeting, the data teams briefed the EOC coordinator about the results of the June SNIDs (Sub-National Immunization Days), which was held in nine districts -- Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Okara, Mianwali, Bahawalpur, Muzaffargarh, and Rahim Yar Khan.

The EOC coordinator was also briefed about environmental sample results of June, data quality issues, missed and zero-dose children coverage, as well as vaccine wastage rates.

More than 32,000 polio workers will participate in the campaign starting from Monday to vaccinate over 5 million children.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2024