Shahzad Rasheed
PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has formally launched its September anti-polio campaign, targeting approximately 7.3 million children across the province.
The campaign was jointly inaugurated by Health Minister Khaliq-ur-Rehman and Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah. Health Secretary Fayyaz Ali Shah, officials of the Provincial Polio Emergency Operations Centre, representatives of international partner organizations, and members of the media also attended the launch ceremony.
Speaking on the occasion, Health Minister Khaliq-ur-Rehman said the province-wide campaign would be conducted simultaneously from September 21 to 27 in Peshawar and Khyber district, while other districts would observe a four-day campaign from September 21 to 24. Around 35,000 polio teams, along with security personnel and other relevant agencies, will participate in the campaign.
The minister urged parents and communities to ensure that every eligible child receives polio drops. He also appealed to media professionals, social media activists and the public to actively support the campaign and help create greater awareness about the importance of vaccination. He appreciated the Chief Secretary’s personal monitoring of the campaign, saying it had contributed to significant improvements compared with the previous year.
Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah said the three polio cases reported in the province this year originated from areas where access to children had been restricted because of security challenges. He said three special campaigns had consequently been conducted during the past three months in Upper South Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan, North Waziristan and Bannu to ensure children in difficult-to-reach areas were not missed.
He said the government was also taking measures to strengthen healthcare services in affected areas, including the recruitment and deployment of 2,400 doctors, procurement of essential medicines and outsourcing the management of 72 remote hospitals while ensuring free treatment for patients.
The Chief Secretary said a roadmap had also been developed to strengthen and integrate routine immunization. He noted that the continued presence of poliovirus in neighbouring Afghanistan remained a risk of cross-border transmission.
He urged the media and social media platforms to play their role in raising awareness and emphasized that ensuring access to healthcare and vaccination for children in poor and underserved communities was a fundamental responsibility of the government.
