Commissioner Malakand Division Syed Zaheerul Islam Shah has said that polio has become our national dilemma that must be taken as challenge as it caused big losses to the country both at internal and external levels. He said this while addressing at the concluding session of the two-day media sensitization workshop for journalists of southern districts conducted by Emergency Operations Center Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on polio eradication Initiative (PEI) at a local hotel in Saidu Sharif, District Swat.
Director EPI KP Dr Akram Shah, Technical Focal Person BMGF Dr Imtiaz, Team Leader UNICEF Dr Johar, Provincial Polio Eradication Officer WHO, Dr Illaudin, District Health Officer Swat Dr Subhani, Communication for Development Officer UNICEF Ejaz Ur Rehman and Head of Pediatrics Department of Saidu Teaching Hospitals, Dr Israrul Haq were present on the occasion.
He said polio handicapped our children on one hand while loomed global sanctions against Pakistan on the other. "Media has to play role in uprooting this menace through public awareness on the disease and vaccination to prevent child disabilities," he added.
Commissioner Malakand said the media is an important pillar of the state that molded public opinion and urged it to remove misconceptions related to polio vaccination and generate demand in the community for polio and other essential immunization.
He said efforts for polio eradication were high with the lowest case count since the launch of door-to-door polio vaccination campaign in 1994 in the country and asked the media to help the government in giving last push to the crippling disease by creating public demand for polio vaccination.
He said the media can play the role of a bridge between government and public by removing hurdles in polio eradication initiative in the country and can educate and motivate people for polio and other essential immunization services provided by the government free of cost for their children.
Provincial PEO, WHO Dr Illaudin in his presentation explained in detail Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) and IPV vaccination and how it builds gut and serum (blood) immunity and the need for repeated vaccination. He explained types of polio viruses, composition of vaccines, environmental sampling and cold chain saying that polio was an eradication programme and not elimination or control programme which is why so much focus was on this programme.
Team Lead Unicef, Dr Johar oriented journalists on global and national polio updates with focus on provincial and southern parts of the province. He said that polio eradication initiative (PEI) has made a significant progress in the province with zero cases this year so far while one case last year and hoped that soon the disease will be stamped out from the last region of the world where wild polio virus was still in circulation.
Technical Focal Person for PEI Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah highlighted the border objectives of the media workshop saying that media was the ear and eyes of the society and plays a pivotal role in shaping public opinion. He said that the dream of polio free Pakistan will not be possible without the support of the media.
Ejaz Ur Rehman, Communication for Development Officer Unicef informed journalists on the media role in community mobilization and sensitization, crises communication and media focal points at the district level.
Dr Israr, senior pediatrician and DHO Swat Dr Subhani also spoke on vaccine efficacy and safety and urged participants to build public trust on vaccination and public health interventions by highlighting the risk perception and the prevention of deaths through effective immunization services in the world.
Later, certificates were distributed among the participants by Commissioner Malakand Division Zaheerul Islam with a vote of thanks by the guest speakers.
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