CHARSADDA, Oct 13: Provincial Law Minister Barrister Arshad Abdullah inaugurated a three-day anti-polio campaign by applying polio drops to children under five years of age in Charsadda.

About 283,000 children will be applied polio vaccine during the drive in the district, said EDO health Dr Fazasl Akbar, while speaking at a function held at the DHQ hospital the other day.

EPI coordinator Dr Farah Ali, district health communication support officer Dr Yasar Rukh, NRDF coordinator Arbab Bilal Khan and others attended the function.

The meeting was informed that 772 teams, including 70 transit and 50 fixed, had been formed to carry out the polio campaign.

In Lakki Marwat, DCO Nisar Ahmad has underlined the need for activating polio eradication committees at the union council level to improve the coverage of children and overcome refusal cases.

He was speaking at a ceremony held at the district headquarters hospital to launch the three-day polio campaign in Lakki
Marwat on Saturday. He administered oral polio vaccine to children to open the campaign.

The DCO said to immunise children against crippling disease was national and religious responsibility. “Children are our asset and the future of the nation and we cannot compromise on their health,” he said.

He said the administration would not tolerate refusal cases, calling upon the members of polio teams to ensure achieving immunisation of targeted population at all costs.

Mr Nisar praised the officials of WHO for helping the authorities to overcome field problems and check the work and performance of polio teams.

He requested teachers, clerics and members of civic bodies to educate people especially parents about the usefulness of oral polio vaccine.

In Bajaur Agency, Political Agent Syed Abdul Jabar Shah said the administration was committed to eradicating polio from the agency.

Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the three-day polio drive here, he said polio had become a serious threat. “Early eradication of polio was the top priority of the government because Pakistan was among the three countries in the world where poliovirus still posed serious threat to children,” he added.

He urged tribal elders, ulema and social workers to continue supporting the anti-polio campaigns. He said the administration would take serious action against those who were found sabotaging the vaccination drives in any part of the agency.

Meanwhile, the Muslim Student’s Federation (MSF) won the students union election of the Government Degree College Barkhalazo, Mamond on Saturday. MSF candidate Hayatullah Khan got 151 votes and was elected president of the college union.

In Lower Dir, DCO Mahmood Aslam Wazir has urged health officials and other relevant quarters to make the three-day anti-polio drive scheduled to be started on October 15 a success.

He was speaking at an inaugural ceremony of the drive held at his official jirga hall Balambat the other day.

The function was organised jointly by the National Research and Development Foundation (NRDF) and health department in order to review arrangements for the drive.

EDO health Dr Shaukat briefed the participants about the arrangements for the drive and said a total of 243,266 children below the age of five would be immunised during the campaign. He said 609 mobile, 88 transit, 65 fixed teams had been formed for the purpose which would be supervised by 129 area supervisors, seven district and nine tehsil monitoring teams.