A 05-day nationwide polio eradication drive began to immunize children under 5 years of age in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Monday. The anti-polio campaign will continue till Jan 12 without any break to immunize 7,42,500 children under 5 years of age, in all 10 districts of the liberated territory, AJK State Health sources told APP on Monday.
The AJK State Health authorities continued that in AJK’s metropolis Muzaffarabad, over 120000 children up to five years of being targeted to be administered the Polio vaccines. At least 3995 mobile teams of paramedical staff have been constituted to visit door to door to administer the polio vaccine drops during the campaign across AJK – where a total of 448 fixed centers at local govt. hospitals and subordinate health facilities have been set up by the State Polio Eradication Committee of the AJK State Health Services Department with the coordination of the World Health Organization (WHO), the sources revealed
The total staff to be involved in the AJK-wide national drive includes mobile teams comprising over 5000 workers, the sources underlined. A central polio control room has been set up in the office of the Provincial Program Manager EPI in AJK State’s metropolis Muzaffarabad to monitor the drive and to receive any complaints by official phone No. 05822-920791.
In the lake district of Mirpur, at least 73082 children under 05 years of age will be administered the polio vaccine. District Health Officer Dr. Fida Hussain told APP here on Monday that in Mirpur district over 400 mobile teams of paramedics in all 28 zones will visit door to door besides serving at the 41fixed centers and the 14 transit points to administer the polio vaccine drops to under 05 children
The DHO Dr. Fida Hussain has advised the parents to fully cooperate with the mobile teams of paramedics by getting their children administered the polio vaccine by the mobile paramedical staff teams.
