The anti-polio campaign will begin in seven districts of the province from June 27. Provincial Minister Khwaja Salman Rafique and Chief Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal jointly presided over a meeting to review the arrangements for the campaign at the Civil Secretariat, here on Saturday.
The meeting was informed that 5.08 million children up to the age of five years would be vaccinated during the campaign, which would continue till July 3 in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Dera Ghazi Khan, Bahawalpur, Layyah and Mianwali districts. More than 39,000 polio workers would perform their duties during the campaign.
Kh Salman Rafique directed the authorities to make the anti-polio campaign a success. He said the country must be made polio-free. He said that for complete eradication of polio, everyone needs to continue working with national spirit.
The chief secretary directed the deputy commissioners to monitor the anti-polio drive themselves in their districts.
The secretary primary health gave a briefing to the meeting. It was informed that the coverage rate in the anti-polio campaign completed in May was 101 per cent and 22.1 million children were inoculated against the target of 21.9 million. From October 2020, no case of polio has been reported.
Deputy Commissioner Lahore Umer Sher Chattha formally inaugurated an anti-polio drive by administering polio vaccine to children at Mian Mir Hospital, here on Saturday.
During the five-day drive starting from June 27, around two million children under five years of age will be administrated anti-polio drops. As many as 6,360 teams have been formed for the purpose.
The DC said that union council monitoring officers and area in-charges would perform duties in the field to make polio drive a success. He said that all district officers and assistant commissioners would monitor the drive in their respective tehsil.
He urged parents to get their children administered anti-polio drops to protect them from lifelong disability. “Polio-free Lahore is our mission,” he said. The DC warned that no one would be allowed to show careless attitude towards the campaign. He said that immunization of every child below five years of age would be ensured.
