Urgency to improve routine immunisation coverage in Sindh with a target population of 1.3 million children, aged under one, could be well gauged from the fact that during first half of the current year it came to a mere 35 percent.
Project Director Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI-Sindh) Nahid Jamali, speaking at a meeting held to review the exercise undertaken as National Immunisation Days (NIDs) from July 13 to t5 and to discuss necessary planning for the forthcoming NIDs from August 24 to 26 reminded that envisaged target for the said period was 40 percent.
It was mentioned that routine immunisation programme is also envisaged to cover, on an average, some 1.4 million pregnant ladies required to be protected against tetanus.
Reiterating need to strengthen the routine immunisation programme, meant to protect kids against all diseases preventable through vaccination, across the province and to further supplement the same with measures being taken to make NIDs and SNIDs successful, she stressed that efforts could bear fruitful results provided EPI schedule is strictly followed.
Discussing explicitly the district and town-wise reported coverage of routine immunisation, the EPI project director, underscoring need for improved performance, said the province without any unnecessary delay has to attain an achievable target of 80 percent by the end of current year.
Dr Hussain Bux Memon, DG Sindh Health Department, concentrating on the campaign against polio registered his satisfaction that districts and towns across the province managed to attain 95 percent target through immunisation of children under five during NIDs conducted during the previous month.
He, however, also cautioned health authorities pertaining to different towns and district governments, which failed to acquire the set targets that a scenario under which some may be covered and other missed may turn the entire exercise meaningless.
Dr Hussain Bux Memon termed the current phase as the most crucial and critical for eradication of polio stressing that no child could and should be missed.
PLEA TO PARENTS: He appealed to all parents first to allow accessibility of their kids to the team of vaccinators visiting their residence and in case the team owing to any reason may not reach them take their kids to the nearest EPI centre for administration of oral polio drops (OPV).
The DG Health opined that it must necessarily get across all parents that each and every target child should be given two drops of polio vaccine during every rounds of NIDs and SNIDs till the latter attain the age of above five years.
He also urged the parents to ensure that their children are administered all vaccines recommended under EPI in accordance with EPI schedule, particularly during first year of their lives.
Representatives of Unicef and WHO present on the occasion held out an assurance to extend all possible support to make the NIDs scheduled for August 24 to 27.