LAHORE: The health authorities have set a target of vaccinating more than 22 million children up to the age of five years during the five-day anti-polio campaign scheduled to start in all districts of Punjab from January 16.
The health department has planned the deployment of 84,500 mobile teams and 0.2 million health workers to administer vaccine to children during the drive to be continued till January 20.
Punjab Health Minister Dr Akhtar Malik and Punjab Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal presided over a meeting of the Provincial Taskforce on Polio Eradication at the Civil Secretariat on Tuesday. Secretary Primary Health Dr Irshad Ahmed, representatives of international organizations working for polio eradication and relevant officers attended the meeting while all the divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners participated through video link.
Dr. Akhtar Malik directed all the deputy commissioners to personally supervise the anti-polio campaign in the districts. He said that 100 percent coverage must be ensured in high-risk districts of Lahore, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad. He mentioned that the country has to be made polio-free for the health and safe future of children.
Chief Secretary Abdullah Khan Sumbal directed the deputy commissioners that the success rate in Lot Quality Assessment Survey (LQAS) should not be less than 95 percent. He said that public health is the responsibility of the state, and negligence in this regard would not be tolerated. The Chief Secretary also sought a report from the deputy commissioners of Multan, DG Khan and Rajanpur regarding the shortcomings in the November campaign. He said that everyone needs to work with national spirit to uproot the polio. He maintained that the cooperation of international organizations in efforts to eradicate polio is commendable.
