A special anti-polio campaign has launched in district Peshawar on Saturday which will continue till April 30. In this regard, a ceremony was held at Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, in which Secretary Health Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Abid Majeed participated as chief guest.
Atif Rehman, Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr Sabir Khan from Pakistan Paediatric Association, Dr Johar Khan from Unicef, Dr Johar Khan, representative of BMGF, Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah, Coordinator EPI Dr Shafiq, Deputy DHO Dr Ikhtiyar, Dr Masood and Dr Khalid Masood from LHR were present on the occasion.
Abid Majeed speaking on the occasion said the campaign is being launched to administer inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) and oral polio vaccine (OPV) in district Peshawar, which will be continued till April 30. He said that over 0.2million children from four months to 23 months age would be vaccinated polio drops during the week-long campaign in the city.
He added that a comprehensive strategy has been chalked out to smooth carrying out the drive. Secretary health dispelled the negative perceptions about the polio vaccine, calling it a more safe, because he also vaccinated his children same polio drops. He said the India along with other countries, which had suffered from this polio, eliminated the disease from administrating same vaccine.
Later, talking to newsmen, Abid Majeed revealed that Pakistan and Afghanistan have decided to launch simultaneously anti-polio campaign to complete wipe out the disease from their respective countries. The official said Peshawar and Afghanistan is actual origin of the polio, due constant traveling of people on both side of the border, which was chance of transmitting the polio virus in the country. Therefore, he said that Pakistan and Afghanistan took decision to launch simultaneously polio eradication campaign to administer those children during the traveling between the both countries.