SWABI, Jan 12: The lady health workers (LHWs) here have showed readiness to take part in polio vaccination campaign in their respective localities.

However, they demanded of the authorities that the campaign should be kept secret and no fixed date announced for this purpose due to increasing threats to their lives.

Talking to Dawn, the LHWs made repeated requests for anonymity, saying they were under pressure for last few weeks due to deteriorating law and order situation.

They said that in recent incidents about nine polio vaccinators were killed in different parts of the country during last campaign, while terrorist attacks in Swabi had claimed lives of six women and a medical technician of an NGO.

They said that they wanted that each LHW would conduct polio vaccination in the locality near her home and none of them would go to far-flung regions. “It is not possible for us in the prevailing scenario to visit far-flung villages,” they said.

They said the refusal cases and all other requirements of the campaign would be fulfilled by them.

They claimed that there were about 700 LHWs and 18 supervisors and all of them had unanimously adopted this policy.

They said that they had put forward their suggestion to the officials concerned.

The LHWs said that they were told by the officers concerned that their colleagues were expected to take part in the campaign in Nowshera and Mardan from Monday, but this was not the case.

“Just a few minutes ago I contacted my colleagues in Mardan and Nowshera and they said that they could not participate in the campaign,” said one of the lady health workers.

They said that their families were also under pressure and opposing their participation in the campaign.

When contacted, Dr Riaz, in-charge of Expanded Programme on Immunisation, said that they had not yet decided how they would tackle the situation if the LHWs refused to participate in polio vaccination campaign, commencing in Swabi district from January 28.

Answering a question, he admitted that the situation was tense and both the health authorities and district administration were in contact in this regard.