LAKKI MARWAT, July 4: The number of refusal cases in anti-polio drive is alarmingly high and a comprehensive strategy and mechanism should be chalked out to bring these cases to zero level, said district coordination officer Nisar Ahmad here on Monday.

Chairing a meeting of district polio eradication committee in his office, the DCO expressed concern over the number of refusal cases and underlined the need for launching an awareness campaign to remove misconceptions and false rumours about the oral vaccine.

Health officials informed the meeting that two rounds of anti-polio campaign would be launched this month for which the department had finalised all sorts of arrangements. They said that the mobile, fixed and transit teams consisted of lady health workers, lady health supervisors, EPI staffers, volunteers and health employees who would immunise the target population of 126,564 kids under five years of age.

Mr Nisar directed the officials concerned to display the list of refusal cases in each health centre and ensure holding of polio eradication committee meetings on union council level. He said that the administration would not use police force for the coverage of refusal cases.

CHEQUES DISTRIBUTED: The Lakki Marwat Frontier Region (FR) assistant political agent, Mohammad Fayyaz Khan Sherpao, distributed cheques among the flood-affected tribesmen on Monday.

A ceremony was held in the district headquarters complex Tajazai which was attended among others by tribal maliks and officials of the political administration. After giving away cheques to the affected tribesmen, the APA said that it would help the tribal people to launch rehabilitation work and stand on their own feet.

“During the last year’s devastating floods the political administration had launched rescue and relief work on time which helped to reduce the scale of losses,” he claimed.