LAKKI MARWAT, July 7: The district health department will constitute and engage roaming teams in anti-polio drives to immunise those children who along with their parents visit different public places.

These roaming teams would immunise children visiting private clinics, hospitals, shrines, outlets of hakeems and spiritual healers, Nadra and Watan card centres and other public places.

It was told at a joint meeting of Lakki district and frontier region polio eradication committees held at the district headquarters complex Tajazai the other day.

The meeting chaired by DCO Nisar Ahmad discussed matters pertaining to upcoming polio eradication campaign commencing from July 16, current polio situation, status of refusal cases and strategy for their coverage. Action plan for the forthcoming anti-polio drive, role of various government departments and responsibilities on part of heads of line departments also came under discussion.

A health official informed the meeting that permanent deployment of ten transit teams in the areas bordering other districts and tribal agencies was also under consideration. “These teams will work round the month to immunise kids below the age of five against the disease,” he said.

He said that union council level polio eradication committees would be further strengthened to achieve desired results. He said that 340 mobile, 42 fixed and 10 transit teams had been formed to vaccinate 134,714 children in the district while 41 mobile, 5 fixed and one transit team would administer oral polio vaccine to 10,453 kids in the adjacent frontier tribal region.

Highlighting the role of heads and officials of line departments DCO Nisar said eradicating polio was a national cause and any negligence on part of government employees would not be tolerated.