Muhammad Usman
The Punjab government has decided to vigorously carry out the upcoming anti-polio campaign in November in view of a possible hiatus in the drive due to the threat of Covid-19. The health authorities have set a target of immunizing about 20 million children up to the age of five years during the November’s campaign.
Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid presided over an important meeting to review steps being taken to eradicate polio at Chief Secretary’s Office here on Tuesday. The Punjab Chief Secretary, secretary primary health, commissioner, deputy commissioners Lahore, and officers concerned attended the meeting whereas the divisional commissioners, deputy commissioners, and chief executive officers of district health authorities participated through video link.
Speaking at the meeting, the provincial health minister said that the number of Coronavirus cases is increasing in the province and due to which it may not be possible to continue the anti-polio campaign regularly. He directed that November’s campaign be made a success by paying special attention to the coverage of missed children.
The chief secretary said that there is a need for working with national spirit to eradicate polio. He said that the human resource model and micro-plans should be reviewed in the vulnerable districts. He asked the officers to ensure 100 percent coverage of the children and take action against the teams that do not follow the micro-plans. He mentioned that the presence of poliovirus in environmental samples is a matter of concern. The Chief Secretary also issued instructions regarding the use of information technology (IT) for monitoring measures against Covid-19, polio, dengue, and other infectious diseases.
The secretary of primary health briefed the meeting that the coverage rate in the anti-polio campaign in October was 103 percent and instead of the target of 19.2 million, 19.9 million children were vaccinated against the disease. During the November campaign, more than 20 million up to the age of five would be immunized, he concluded.
