Amid increasing cases of measles, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has announced to launch a 12-day special anti-measles campaign to prevent the deadly disease from outbreak in the province. After reporting several measles cases in Sindh and Punjab, the KP designed a special drive for combating measles in the province, says KP Minister for Health Shahram Khan Tarakai while talking to media persons here on Thursday.
The Minister said the drive would be launched from May 19, which will continue till May 31, through which more than 9.6 million children of age from six month up to 10 years will get vaccinated against measles, besides immunising routine polio drops as well. Of the total target of children, he added that around 0.8million Afghan refugees' children would also be vaccinated during the drive. He further said transit teams of health workers would be dispatched to refugees' camps and southern districts to get children immunise vaccines there.
Shahram Tarakai informed that a fund of Rs 1 billion has been allocated for this special drive, in which KP government is providing Rs 470million, while Global Alliance for Vaccine Immunisation (GAVI), extending financial assistance of Rs 430million from the gross allocated budget for the measles campaign in the province. The situation, the Minister said is quite alarming as around 3,666 measles cases have so far been reported during last five month in KP, while nearly six children died of this fatal disease in the same period.
While keeping in gravity of the conditions, he said KP government is launching special drive with regard to control from further outbreak of measles cases in the province. He said they have taken on board Chief Secretary and Deputy Commissioners and other relevant authorities to make the measles drive successful. During the special campaign, he informed the health workers' teams would visit schools, hospitals and other transit points to vaccination of measles drops, to achieve the set target in this regard. "We would make efforts to outreach all children during 12-day drive against measles in KP, the Minister said and added that we are taking serious steps for polio, measles and other fatal childhood diseases there, because our efforts are to save the children from this deadly diseases. "Government has made a global commitment to completely eliminate the measles by the end of 2015, and the efforts are part of this commitment, the Minister said.
Regarding the planning of KP government after restriction by WHO, the Minister said they are making all-out efforts to prevention of polio and utilising sufficient funding and resources for this purpose. He, however, said polio cases are mostly originated from Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which are domain of Federal Government, so he urged the Centre to make comprehensive plan for eradication of polio in tribal region.
Commenting on the ongoing young doctors' strike, he said the government is ready to talks with the protesting doctors. He, however, said this is not way to resolve issues and accepting demands by pressing the government. He categorically said the government would accept all legitimate demands of the young doctors of the province.