Immunisation drive against polio, which was scheduled to be started from January 14, has been postponed as the local administration declined to provide security to the vaccinators due to the long march announced by Tehrik-i-Minhajul Quran chief Dr Tahirul Qadri on January 14.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) had to start three-day Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNID) campaign from January 14 but, according to information, the Islamabad administration refused to provide foolproof security to the health workers demanded by the campaign managers.
The CDA Health Services Director Dr Hassan Orooj while talking to TheNation confirmed that the campaign is not being conducted due uncertain security situation and long march. In a meeting of district polio eradication committee meeting held on January 4, all the stakeholders had unanimously decided to postpone the campaign as SSP (Operations) Malik Yousuf had expressed the inability of the local administration to provide security in the wake of long march, he said.
In a nationwide campaign around 33 million children are vaccinated but SIND campaign is conducted only in high-risk areas in which over 17 million children are administered polio drops. In Islamabad out of 16 zones the campaign was scheduled to be held in 9 zones in which nearly 66000 children in Islamabad and 55000 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) had to be vaccinated in mobile population, slums and brick kilns during the drive.
According to health officials it is for the first time in the history of the capital city that the immunisation campaign has been deferred due to security situation that should be conducted on time as delays in the vaccination increases virus circulation activity.
“Some polio team members - especially women - are afraid to show up for work due to recent attacks on vaccinators in Karachi and Peshawar. An incident from Jhangi Syedan, a rural area of Islamabad was also reported in which a vaccinator was threatened and harassed. So we had demanded foolproof security for the workers’ informed an official.
Though its not possible for the government to deploy security personnel with every vaccinator, at least the patrolling of the security personnel be made mandatory in sensitive areas, he added.A World Health Organisation (WHO) official maintained in such security risks we cant think of initiating a nation-wide vaccination drive so the government has left it to the district administrations to hold the campaign in phases so that the security of the workers can be ensured.
The Government of Pakistan and the affected provinces had temporarily suspended the vaccination campaign due to concerns over safety of health workers. According to WHO out of a total target of 18.5 million for the last polio round, 14.9 million children were vaccinated throughout the country, resulting in over 3.5 million children missed during the last nationwide campaign. Now adopting the strategy of district wise campaigns, the vaccination drive is underway in different districts of the country.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus that can cause permanent paralysis in a matter of hours. Safe and effective vaccines protect children from the disease. Currently the disease remains endemic in only three countries: Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan.