Punjab Health Department, on Monday has launched its three-day National Immunisation Campaign against polio in southern Punjab, during which polio drops are being administered to 16 million children up to five years of age. A total of 38,000 vaccination teams are working in rural as well as urban areas for this purpose.
Commissioner Multan Syed Muhammad Ali Gardezi said that the three-day anti-polio drive has begun on Monday, which would continue till February 17, 2010, is being conducted across the province. He informed that 32,000 mobile teams were visiting door to door while 4000 static teams were administering polio drops in DHQs, THQs hospitals, health centres and dispensaries.
He said that 2000 teams have been deputed at the railway stations, bus terminals, airport as well as transactional points of the big cities so that vaccination cover could also be provided to the travelling children. He further said that due to better strategy and arrangements and full participation of the parents, the last polio campaign was conducted in good way due to which no polio case has been registered in the province during the current year, however, four such cases had been registered in other provinces.
Commissioner said that 700,000 children would get anti-polio drops in Multan district, 100,000 in Rajanpur, 300,000 in Dera Ghazi Khan, 200,000 in Muzaffargarh and 0.6 million in Rahimyarkhan. He warned that at district level, concerned EDO Health would be responsible for any negligence.
Gardezi said, "We have to come out from paper work and work practically in the field. Until the EDOs Health would not take the responsibility and lead the anti-polio campaign at district level, gaps and deficiencies could not be removed, he added.