Seven-day anti-polio drive kicks off in parts of KP
Over 3.4 million children to be vaccinated against polio in 19 districts of the province
Islamabad: A seven-day anti-polio drive kicked off in 19 districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa on Monday.
Chief Secretary Shahzad Khan Bangash launched the campaign by administering polio drops to children at Sifat Ghayyur Children Hospital, Peshawar.
During the anti-polio drive, over 3,456,000 children under the age of five will be vaccinated against polio from January 24 to January 30 this month.
Talking to media persons after launch of the campaign, the Chief Secretary said that eradication of polio virus is a national cause and complete eradication of crippling disease is top priority of the provincial government.
Bangash said that teams had been instructed to follow Covid-19 precautionary measures.
He informed media persons that 14,887 teams of trained polio workers would take part in the drive and 3,603 area in-charges had also been deployed for effective monitoring of the campaign.
During the anti-polio drive, he said that over 22,000 police and other law enforcement agencies personnel would be deployed for the security of polio workers.
The Chief Secretary urged all sections of the society to immunize their children below the age of five against polio in order to protect them from lifetime disability.
Deputy Commissioner Peshawar and DMS Sifat Ghayyur Children’s Hospital, representatives of WHO, UNICEF, Health Department and other donor agencies were also present on the occasion.
