Speakers at a seminar have underlined the need for improving immunisation in Pakistan and the Draft Compulsory Immunisation Bill to avert diseases like polio. Speaking at PILDAT arranged Legislative Forum titled "On Critical need to improve Immunisation in Pakistan and the Draft Compulsory Immunisation Bill here on Wednesday."
They said that the Draft Compulsory Immunisation Bill is a much needed initiative to make immunisation compulsory for all and federal as well as provincial governments and should draft it as early as possible.
Speakers including Members of Nationals Assembly and Provincial Assemblies agreed that a nation-wide awareness campaign should be launched with effective participation of parliamentarians and media for eradicating polio from Pakistan. The speakers included Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq, Speaker, Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, Deputy Speaker Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, Zameen Khan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly, Dr Sania Nishtar, Founder President Pakistan Health Policy Forum, Wazir Ahmed Jogezai, former Deputy Speaker National Assembly and Fozia Ejaz Khan, MNA and Vice President Parliamentary Caucus on Immunisation in the National Assembly.
Fozia Ejaz Khan, MNA, stressed the need for public representatives to take interest and work in their own areas to make immunisation campaign successful. She were of the view that immunization teams are less paid and local government system is not working, which is a cause of lack of success of campaigns. Media should run an effective awareness campaign, she believed.
The Draft Compulsory Immunization Bill is proposed by a section of the civil society to promote immunization process in Pakistan and firstly was launched in 1978 by the Health Ministry. Despite the fact that the government as well as international institutions like World health Organisation (WHO) has spent billions of rupees on the polio eradication in Pakistan, but so for Health Ministry had failed in attaining required results.
Chaudhry Anwar-ul-Haq said that AJK is a polio free area because of the efforts of the AJK government towards ensuring maximum coverage of immunisation. He said that polio day is celebrated in such spirit as Kashmir solidarity day celebrated in Pakistan. He said that People of FATA should be treated same as other citizen of the country. He believed that Compulsory Immunization Bill should be introduced and passed from Parliament and Provincial Assemblies as it is an important initiative to make immunization compulsory for all.
Rana Mashhood Ahmed Khan, MPA believed that PILDAT should arrange a forum in polio hit-area like interior Sindh and Fata and the public representatives will be willing to join to sensitise the people and to spread awareness. He said that in modern world legislation is mostly made on public demand, so compulsory immunisation bill is a very good effort in this regard. He was of the opinion that co-ordination between Parliament and Provincial Assemblies should be enhanced for such legislation.
Dr Sania Nishtar said that Pakistan is among the four countries of the world where polio still exists, and Pakistan is the only country where number of polio cases are rising as seen in 2010. In Fata and Interior Sindh polio cases have seen an increase, which is a cause for concern.
Zameen Khan, MPA believed that compulsory immunisation bill would be a good move as it will directly benefit poor people. He said that KPK is badly affected from polio and he assured that KPK Provincial Assembly will pass the bill once it introduced. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Executive Director PILDAT, said that the objective behind holding the discussion is to provoke a much-needed debate and discussion on the need to make immunisation campaigns more effective in Pakistan. PILDAT has used the draft bill to kick off discussion, as a key tool and it is up to legislators to review the draft bill in detail before it is needed to be tabled or passed.