LAHORE: Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman Thursday directed all the relevant departments to step up efforts for eradication of dengue and polio and ensure implementation of the guidelines devised in this regard.
He issued the directives while presiding over a meeting held to review the anti-dengue and polio campaigns at the Civil Secretariat here on Thursday. The Additional Chief Secretary, administrative secretaries of various departments and health officials attended the meeting while all divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.
The Chief Secretary ordered the deputy commissioners to personally oversee the anti-polio and dengue campaigns in districts. He mentioned that special attention should be paid on monitoring and surveillance in the high-risk districts of Lahore and Rawalpindi. He also sought a report from the Health Department regarding the districts that failed in Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) of the last anti-polio campaign. He said that the continuation of joint efforts is necessary for the complete elimination of dengue and polio.
The Chief Secretary also issued instructions to the Health Department regarding setting up a calendar of anti-dengue activities. The meeting was briefed that a special anti-polio campaign is underway in five districts including Lahore and Faisalabad. The special campaign was started after the confirmation of polio virus in two environmental samples in Lahore last month. About 68 percent of the vaccination target has been achieved during the ongoing drive. The meeting was told that field teams have started anti-dengue activities across the province.
