KHYBER: Anti-polio campaign in nine union councils of Tirah valley in Khyber tribal district has been suspended due to the precarious security situation, reveal health officials.

They told Dawn that they had made necessary arrangements for the vaccination of children in Tirah but security officials asked them to put the anti-polio campaign on hold for nine union councils where around 17,000 children under the age of five years were registered for vaccination.

The officials, however, said the campaign was going on smoothly in other parts of the district, with no one resisting or boycotting it.

They said that communities in Bara, Jamrud and Landi Kotal were very cooperative towards vaccinators, with little vaccination refusal from parents due to illness or weather-related issues.

Officials say children’s vaccination smoothly under way in other Khyber areas

About the termination of over 70 vaccination officials, they said those individuals were part of the ongoing anti-polio campaign as they were entitled to withdraw their Dec salary and had not put up any resistance to the drive.

Health authorities had formed 945 teams to vaccinate 210,000 children under the age of five years in the district against polio.

In Swabi, the ongoing five-day vaccination campaign is being monitored by officials of the district administration after being asked by the chief secretary to explain the failure to assess the previous anti-polio drives in the district.

Accompanied by the relevant officials during a field visit, deputy commissioner Nasrullah Khan urged parents to cooperate with vaccinators for the protection of their children against polio. The officials reviewed the performance of polio teams in Maneri and vaccinated children.

The deputy commissioner said the campaign to eradicate polio was very important for the health of children, so their parents should cooperate with vaccinators.

Ahead of the campaign, officials were told by their bosses to ensure coverage of all targeted children amid warning of strict action over vaccine refusals.

However, they’re reluctant to share the relevant data with Dawn.

SUSPENDED: Shangla deputy commissioner Mohammad Fawad Khan on Wednesday suspended two area in-charges of the health department over their “failure to effectively implement” the ongoing anti-polio drive in the district.

The decision was made during a meeting at the deputy commissioner’s office in Alpuri.

DC Mohammad Fawad Khan, who is also the district chairman of the polio committee, reviewed the drive that will continue until Dec 21.

He asked departmental heads to make the campaign more effective and improve its coverage to achieve targets.

Meanwhile, the anti-polio campaign continued in Bajaur tribal district for the third consecutive day on Wednesday under strict security for vaccinators.

The police said security measures had been heightened for polio teams in light of previous attacks on them. They said their more than 1,600 personnel were escorting polio teams to reach around 270,000 children across the district.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2024