ISLAMABAD: Women health workers led the anti-measles drive that started across the country last week.

Rida Zainab, a fourth year medical student at the Shifa International Hospital volunteered to support the Capital Development Authority (CDA) during its 12-day anti-measles campaign.

She is leading the team for Issa Nagri in I-9 where she is assisted by a local, Tina Rashid and two social mobilisers and together they form one of the 84 outreach teams for the capital city which are vaccinating all children between the ages of nine months and five years against measles.

Current campaign aims to vaccinate 30,838,522 children in 12 days

Children play in rubble in the slum while their family members scavenge through it.

The area in-charge, 24-year-old Tina Rashid said she has more than 1,300 houses to cover.

“My target is vaccinating 836 children against measles, especially children in urban slums,” she said.

“The dose being given during the campaign is an additional dose. So even if children have had the two required doses at nine months and 15 months, they should be given the vaccine. We have to vaccinate more than 95pc of the target children to achieve the desired elimination goal,” said Dr Syed Saqlain Ahmed Gilani, national programme manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI).

There has been an increase in the number of measles cases and outbreaks the past few years which has led to the deaths of hundreds of children.

The current campaign is targeting hard-to-reach populations and aims to vaccinate 30,838,522 children across the country.

The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation is contributing 34,230,760 vaccine doses and will bear 95pc of the campaign’s cost while the government will be paying for the remaining 5pc, Dr Gilani said.

“Ensuring equitable coverage of immunisation in Pakistan is the key to reducing child mortality. This campaign provides the opportunity to reach those children who have never received any routine immunisation vaccines,” he added.

Urban areas, particularly urban slums, are being focused on as reports indicate that a large number of unimmunised children live in urban and peri-urban slums.

“Government services in the cities have not growth in accordance with the rate of urbanisation. Islamabad had a population of 400,000 in the 60s and now has more than two million people. Out of the 34 urban settlements, more than half are not even recognised by the government, reducing the availability of basic health services,” said CDA Director General Health Dr Hassan Orooj.

Though the programme includes efforts to create awareness and easy access for poor and rich families alike, parents also need to play their role in bringing children to EPI centres.

“Like the polio campaign, which is conducted door-to-door, parents think other vaccination campaigns should also be brought to their doorstep as well. We need to communicate to them that these vials cannot be taken out of the EPI centre as the vaccines are not effective when their temperature is not maintained,” he said.

At times, doubts regarding the safety of vaccine safety and the quality of services in public facilities hold back Pakistani mothers from getting their children vaccinated.

For Dr Orooj, this is a challenge in the upscale areas of the capital city as well.

“Immunisation coverage can improve if mothers are convinced this is important for their children,” he said.

Pakistan Paediatric Association President Prof Rai Asghar said measles can be fatal. He said children should be vaccinated at nine months and 15 months and that a single dose is not enough.

“The majority of children who turn up at the hospital have not had a dose or have only had one,” he said.

“The measles vaccines is safe and effective and does not have side effects,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2018

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