LAHORE, April 20: Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi on Tuesday administered anti-polio drops to children at the Children's Hospital to inaugurate the three-day vaccination campaign.

The chief minister said the efforts of the last few years to eradicate polio from the province had started bearing fruits. This year only three polio cases had been reported - two from Muzaffargarh and one from Faisalabad.

He said that all concerned should take the vaccination campaign seriously to eradicate polio from the province. "We must remain vigilant on the anti-polio vaccination issue and make concerted efforts specially at the level of rural health centres and basic health units."

The government would extend maximum support in terms of funds, human resources and infrastructure to provide basic health care services to masses. A sum of Rs1 billion had already been given to upgrade the emergency departments of all the 11 teaching hospitals of the province.

The staff working in the upgraded emergency departments would get 50 per cent extra salaries. The patients visiting these emergency departments were getting all medicines free of cost. Pervaiz Elahi announced that the 'free emergency services' project would soon be introduced at the district headquarters hospitals.

A pilot ambulance service in Lahore would soon be launched and later in other districts. Institute of Child Health/Children Hospital's dean Prof Dr Sajid Maqbool said the current vaccination campaign had provided another chance to eradicate polio from the province.

He said the government's resolve to eradicate polio could be gauged from the fact that the chief minister had involved all the provincial ministers and district Nazims to ensure that all children under five years of age were vaccinated.