A five-day polio eradication drive will begin in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), on February 26. According to official sources, anti-polio campaign will continue till March 01, 2024, and during the drive, various teams would administer polio drops to a large number of children below five years of age. The drive will cover 10 districts of the AJK, Health Department sources told APP on Friday.
Giving details, the health authorities said that in Muzaffarabad, more than 1.20 lakh children up to five years of age would be provided polio vaccines. At least 3995 mobile teams of para-medical staff have been assigned duties to visit door-to-door to administer polio vaccine to the children of five years of age, to protect them from the crippling disease. During the campaign across AJK, a total of 448 fixed centers at local government hospitals and sub-ordinate health facilities would be established by the State Polio Eradication Committee of the AJK State Health Services Department with the coordination of the World Health Organization (WHO).
In the AJK, over 5000 workers will visit door-to-door to immunize children under 5 years of age to protect them from the dangerous disease. The fixed centers would also be set up at state-run hospitals, basic health units, rural health centers, as well as various other spots to vaccinate the children to protect them from polio disease. A total of 169 transit points would be set up to make the polio eradication campaign successful, the sources added. The sources further said that a total of 844 area In charge will supervise the drive at union council’s of 35 tehsils while a total of 245 union councils throughout AJK State, would also be covered during the drive.
A central polio control room will be set up in the office of the Provincial Program Manager, EPI, in AJK State’s metropolis, Muzaffarabad, to monitor the drive and for receiving complaints, there is an official phone number 05822-920791. In the lake district of Mirpur, at least 73082 children under 5 years of age will be administered polio vaccine. Deputy Commissioner Mirpur Yasir Riaz Chaudhry told APP that in Mirpur district, over 400 mobile teams of paramedics are responsible to cover 28 zones, during door-to-door visits. The team would also provide service to 41 fixed centers and 14 transit points. Earlier, chairing a meeting held here to review arrangements for the 5-day national polio eradication drive in this district, the Deputy Commissioner advised the parents to fully cooperate with the mobile teams of paramedic staff.—APP
