4-Day Anti-Polio campaign in KPK and FATA from September 14

4-Day Anti-Polio campaign in KPK and FATA from September 14

Peshawar, Pakistan: After successful completion of five-day anti-polio campaign in sensitive areas of Karachi, Pakistan is moving fast to eradicate polio in those areas where campaign was not successful in past due to attacks of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).

A four-day anti-polio campaign will be launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA from Monday with 5,355,397 children to be vaccinated in National Immunization Day campaign in KP minus Chitral, Dir Upper, Lower and FATA.

According to Provincial Secretary Health of KPK, Mushtaq Jadoon all arrangements have been finalized to ensure administering anti-polio vaccine to children up to five years of age.

While talking to state run news agency APP, he said anti-polio campaigns have given positive results and only thirteen polio cases have so far been reported from all over the country this year.

He said, in all 5,355,397 children up to the age of five would be vaccinated against crippling polio disease from September 14-16 across the KP, minus Chitral, Dir Upper and Lower District owning to floods and by elections.

Besides, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in FATA a total of 8,85000 children up to five years of age would be vaccinated during three-day campaign. He said three-day National Immunization Days (NID) campaign will be ensured in all the districts of KP except Chitral where vaccination has been postponed owing to floods. The polio campaign is also deferred in Dir Upper and Lower due to by elections and would be rescheduled on Sept, 16. A total of 5,355, 397 children would be targeted for which 3399 area In Charges, supported by 425 Lady Health Supervisors would visit 2,657, 779 households.

Besides this 14,330 mobile, 1550 fixed, 728 transit and 107 teams with roaming duties have been constituted to achieve the targeted goal.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in FATA have been a dangerous areas for OPV workers in past as terrorist outfit Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had been attacking and even killing health workers who had been working in Pushtun-dominated areas of Pakistan.

TTP had been attacking polio workers all over Pakistan except Punjab because Punjab has less Pushtun-dominated areas. Terrorist outfit TTP who is a group of Pushtun-dominated terrorists is of the view that OPV is a part of international conspiracy to make boys impotent so west can control increasing population of Muslims particularly Pushtuns population. Such attacks are normal in Afghanistan also.