CHITRAL: The Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNID), originally scheduled from December 16 to 20, have been preponed by three days in the Kalash valleys due to the concluding ceremonies of the Kalash winter festival, Chitramas.

In the meeting of district polio eradication committee, held here the other day with Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mohsin Iqbal in the chair, the issue of the coincidence of the festival days with the SNID was discussed in length as the meeting was told that during the last seven days of the 15-day Chitramas festival, no outsider was allowed to enter the Kalash villages.

According to Dr Farman Nizar, Coordinator of the Expanded Programme of Immunisation (EPI), even communication between members of the Muslim and Kalash communities was highly prohibited at this time, making vaccination impossible.

It was agreed to launch the campaign in the Kalash valleys of Bumbrait, Rumbur, and Birir on December 13 and run it for three days in order to address the problem that arose because of the Kalash celebration.

Following a review of plans for the district’s upcoming SNID, it was determined that, in order to reach the target in the border village of Arandu, the population welfare department’s female field staff would continue to vaccinate, with mobile teams going door to door in areas where no male was allowed as vaccinator by the locals

The DC issued strict instructions to the line departments and the NGOs to ensure the availability of their vehicles for the SNID and said that no laxity on the part of any government official would be tolerated in future given the gravity of the situation as 55 polio cases were detected during the year.

District Police Officer Iftikhar Shah assured the meeting of foolproof security in the border areas so that the vaccination staff could discharge their duties without any fear to achieve the required results.

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2024