LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to launch anti-polio campaign in 14 high-risk districts of the province from October 24.
The seven days anti-polio campaign will be carried out in high-risk districts including: Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad, while it will conclude after five days in the other 11 districts including: Mianwali, Khushab, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Layya, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur.
The special campaign for polio eradication is aimed at vaccinating as many as 11.18 million children up to the age of five years, with deployment of more than 97,000 polio workers.
To review arrangements for the campaign, a meeting of the Provincial Taskforce on Polio Eradication was held here on Wednesday with Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal. Health Secretary Dr Irshad Ahmad and representatives of international organizations working for polio eradication attended the meeting while Primary and Secondary healthcare Minister Dr Akhtar Malik and deputy commissioners of the respective districts participated through video link.
Speaking on the occasion, the Provincial Health Minister said that the country would be made polio-free for the health and safe future of children. He said that special arrangements must be made for the anti-polio campaign in flood-affected areas.
Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal directed that the special campaign to eradicate polio be made a success. He asked the deputy commissioners to personally monitor the anti-polio drive in the districts, besides paying special attention to the coverage of the ‘missed children’. He said that everyone needs to continue working with national spirit for the complete eradication of polio. He also appreciated the cooperation of international organizations in efforts to eradicate polio.
Briefing the meeting, Secretary Primary Health Dr Irshad Ahmad said that the coverage ratio in the August anti-polio campaign was 103 percent as 2.26 million children were given polio vaccine against the set target of 2.19 million. He maintained that no case of polio had been reported in Punjab since October 2020.
