During the campaign, 45 million children under the age of five will be given anti-polio vaccine
ISLAMABAD:
A week-long anti-polio campaign will begin across the country on Monday (today), Radio Pakistan reported.
During the campaign, 45 million children under the age of five will be given anti-polio vaccine.
The health workers will go door-to-door in both urban and remote areas to administer anti-polio vaccine and vitamin A supplements to the children.
First Lady Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari has called on families and communities across Pakistan to fully cooperate with the nationwide polio vaccination campaign starting tomorrow to ensure that all children are protected from the disease.
In a statement, she highlighted the progress of previous campaigns, saying 31 polio cases were reported last year, while only one case has been recorded this year so far.
However, Aseefa said the threat of disease still exists and is emphasized for repeated vaccination in every campaign and routine vaccination.
She further said that current efforts are being carried out in coordination with Afghanistan to curb cross-border transmission.
The First Lady also appreciated frontline workers and called for collective efforts to achieve a polio-free Pakistan, stressing that no child should be left behind.
The week-long campaign will vaccinate over 45 million children under the age of five across the country. The health personnel will go door-to-door in both urban and remote areas for the purpose and will also administer vitamin A supplements to the children.
In February, when reports emerged that about a million children were missing during the year’s first nationwide polio campaign, Karachi stood out among the cities with the most cases of denial.
A total of 53,000 refusals were reported from across the country, 58 percent of which were reported from Karachi alone, during the vaccination drive, which ended on February 5 in most cities but ran until February 8 in Sindh.
