5 days national polio-eradication campaign begins in AJK

MIRPUR (AJK): The 5-day integrated nation-wide anti-polio drive began in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Monday - during which over 6.62 lakh children under 5 years of age are targeted to be administered the polio vaccine.

The official sources told APP here that only in AJK’s metropolis - Muzaffarabad, a total of 110,137 children up to five years of would be be administered anti-Polio vaccines during the drive, to be continued till April 2 with out any pause.

A total of 438 mobile teams of para medical staff have been constituted to visit door to door to administer the anti polio vaccine during the campaign in the capital district - where 63 fixed centers have also been set up by the State Polio Eradication Committee of the AJK State Health Services Department.

The fixed centers have been set up at the state-run hospitals, basic health units, rural health centers as well as various other spots to vaccinate the children with the anti-polio drops.

A total of 31 zones had been demarcated for conducting door to door drive under the supervision of 114 area in charges, the sources said.

The state health department’s Polio Eradication Committee has made adequate arrangement to executive the polio-eradication campaign in a befitting manner.

The parents have been advised to fully cooperate the mobile teams by getting their children administered with the polio-vaccine by the mobile paramedical staff teams.

The total staff to be involved in the drive include mobile teams comprising over 4500 workers for visiting door to door to immunize the children of and under 5 years of age during the campaign throughout Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

It may be added that the state health authorities claimed that there had been no any case of polio disease to any child detected in any part of Azad Jammu & Kashmir during over last 21 years.