ISLAMABAD, Jan 26: The government has decided to strengthen its routine Extended Programme of Immunization (EPI) in 20 priority districts, including the federal capital, to make them model districts in controlling polio virus, an official source told Dawn.

The decision was taken in a recent meeting of the Federal EPI-Cell. It was also decided that various groups would be appointed to monitor immunization process in these districts.

The priority districts include Multan, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Sheikhupura and Rahim Yar Khan in Punjab, Karachi, Thatta, Khairpur and Larkana in Sindh, Peshawar, Mardan, Swat, Charsada and Mansehra in the NWFP, Quetta, Mastung and Killa Abdullah in Balochistan, Muzaffarabad (AJK) and Gilgit/Diamar (FANA).

The decision was made in view of the recommendation of a technical mission, comprising Dr Julian Bilous, WHO headquarters; Dr Francois Gasse, Unicef headquarters; Dr Klaus Friederich, GAVI; Dr Ezzeddine Mohsni, WHO (EMRO). The mission had visited Pakistan last year to assess the overall performance of EPI.

Earlier, health minister Mohammad Nasir Khan, speaking in a meeting of the National Inter Agency Coordination Committee at the National Institute of Health, showed his displeasure with poor EPI coverage in certain districts, sources said.

He asked the EPI national programme manager to take strict action against those workers who were not performing well. The minister was also critical of the difference in the assessment and reporting of EPI coverage and did not agree with the idea of linking the performance with the provision of incentives. "Those who are unwilling to perform will not work even with incentives and poor localities (mostly rural) are more receptive of EPI activities," the sources quoted the minister as saying.

The minister emphasized that polio eradication was the most important concern of the health ministry. An office has also been set up at the Prime Minister Secretariat to monitor polio eradication activities, he said.

He also stressed the need for appointing the right person at the right position and asked the EPI managers to be result oriented and not to tolerate any slackness on part of health workers in improving EPI coverage. During the meeting, a World Bank study on "district level variation in immunization rates-implication for improving services delivery," was also presented.