Staff Reporter Peshawar
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Emergency Operations Center in collaboration with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) Thursday conducted a day long orientation session for the healthcare providers based in 18 super high-risk union councils of Shaheen Muslim Town.
The objective of the session was to capacitate the pool of doctors with programmatic knowledge and communication skills for addressing polio related medical misconceptions of the community.
Addressing the workshop, (KP) Additional Secretary Health Polio and Coordinator Emergency Operations Center Abdul Basit said the basic objective of the activity was to orient healthcare providers on polio eradication initiative and to engage them as advocates for addressing community concerns on vaccine safety and efficacy and other medical misconceptions related to polio immunization.
Prof Dr Aqeel Khattak, Prof Dr Bawar Shah, Associate Prof Dr Imad, senior children specialist, Dr Qayum Orakzai from Pakistan Pediatric Association, Technical Focal Person EOC, Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah, Team lead N Stop Dr Ijaz Shah, World Health Organisation (WHO) Team Lead, Dr Gedi, Team Lead UNICEF Dr Andrew and healthcare providers serving in various public and private health facilities of Peshawar were also present on the occasion.
Coordinator Abdul Basit in opening remarks welcomed the participants, saying that doctors were important segment of the society, who were respected by the people and their advices and viewpoints were given due weightage by the masses.
It was therefore important that doctors gave correct and authentic information on health subjects including significance of immunization for prevention of vaccine preventable diseases to bring down mortality rate in the country, he said.
