KARACHI, Aug 10: Demonstrating a zero-tolerance policy towards inefficiency, Polio Oversight Committee focal person Dr Azra Pacheho on Friday sought action against senior health officers and vaccinators in three districts of Sindh, sources told Dawn.

A source in the health department said that chairing a meeting of senior health department officers, including the executive district health officers and polio eradication officials, Dr Pacheho expressed her dissatisfaction with the performance of the district health officers, some vaccinators and supervisors and said that they had been failing to adhere to the National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) during the last couple of anti-polio campaigns.

During the meeting various campaign indicators, field issues/actions and wild virus & surveillances indicators of 2011-12 were considered in the case of some districts and the chair felt that there was a need to enhance surveillance and monitoring.

Dr Pacheho asked the health department secretary who was also present in the meeting to issue show-cause notices to the EDOs-health of Kambar and Khairpur for their not up-to-the-mark performance in the last couple of campaigns and insufficient coverage of the deserving children up to the age of five years.

She also sought strict actions against a group of vaccinators and their supervisors working in Larkana district for not discharging their duties properly in regard to polio and routine immunisation, said health department special secretary Dr Suresh Kumar.

He added that the focal person was of the view that the polio epidemic in the country posed a threat to all districts and as such all were required to be fully prepared and geared up to control polio virus.