PESHAWAR, May 10: The Directorate of Health, Fata, has reinstated 13 contract employees, who were recently removed from their posts of social mobilisers for anti-polio campaigns by the local authorities in North Waziristan Agency on charges of inefficiency.

This wrangling between the quarters concerned is not only hampering the drive against polio, but it has also worried Unicef, which has been spending million of dollars every year to eradicate viral infectious diseases from this part of the world.

Sources said that the agency surgeon, who was overseeing health sector in North Waziristan, had dismissed 13 social mobilisers one month ago. The employees despite getting handsome salary packages were accused of not performing their duties, sources added.

An official, citing reasons for the dismissal of the employees, said that those people had been appointed without fulfilling the prescribed criteria which also led to their termination.

The agency surgeon recruited social mobilisers to educate people about administering anti-polio drops to their children. After investigation into the charges, the agency surgeon dismissed these officials in April last. However, the affected employees, who were enjoying blessings of a parliamentarian from Fata, used their connections for reinstatement.

Sources said that the employees with the support of some officials in the directorate approached additional chief secretary, Fata and he approved their reinstatement. These terminated employees received their reinstatement order on April 27. The director health Fata was not available for comments.

According to the reports, representatives of Unicef have expressed reservations over the tug-of-war among the officials sitting in Peshawar and tribal area and recruitment of 'inefficient' people for the ongoing drive.

In some areas of Fata, parents did not allow campaigners to administer anti-polio vaccines to children and 25 per cent of the total children in the region could not be administered drops.

Fata came to spotlight last year when Pakistan became the highest polio-endemic country in the world with 142 cases, which included 95 from Fata.

The Unicef has allocated $33 million in Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the current year to eradicate poliomyelitis.

According to reports, 15 old and three new cases of polio have been detected in tribal areas and the province respectively this year so far. In addition the UN body also provides supplies to the government.

“Unicef is not a charity organisation. It gives funds for the eradication of polio,” said an official, adding that the UN agency did not need people who could not deliver the goods.

The staff of Unicef and other donor agencies could not visit Fata due to lawlessness and have to relay on third party for monitoring and inspection. An official said that like other conflict-hit regions in the world donors also carried out monitoring in the tribal areas through third parties.