Altaf Hamid Rao.
Polio eradication campaign kicks off in the Mangla Lake-District,
MIRPUR (AJK): (Parliament Times) The Independent 3rd party evaluation authority has declared lake district of Mirpur Azad Jammu Kashmir as executer of 100 percent vaccination drive against polio during the immediate past 05 nation-wide campaign carried out from August 17 this year, official sources disclosed.
This was disclosed by the District Health Officer Mirpur Dr. Fida Hussain on the ever of inauguration of the 05-day nation-wide campaign launched in Mirpur district on Monday besides rest of Azad Jammu Kashmir.
Commissioner Mirpur Division Ch. Muhammad Raqeeb inaugurated the campaign by administering polio-vaccine drops to the children under 05 years of age at the DHO office here. The ceremony was also attended by DC Mirpur Raja Tahir Mumtaz, Medical Superintendent DHQ Hospital Mirpur Dr. Farooq Ahmed Noor and other senior officials of World Health Organization, the local administration and the State Health Department including Coordinator National Program for Family Planning Dr. Farhat Zaffar, Senior Family Medical Officer Dr. Fatima Yaqoob and others.
Like rest of Azad Jammu & Kashmir, a total of 68025 children under five years of age would be administered anti-polio vaccine during the 5-day District Health officer Dr. Fida Hussain told on this occasion.
The campaign has been launched across AJK by the State Health Services Deptt. with the coordination of of the World Health Organization (WHO), disclosed Mirpur District Health Officer, Dr. Fida Hussain, while unveiling the salient features of the immunization campaign against polio in the district.
Dr. Fida told media on this occasion on Monday that no case of polio disease has emerged any where in Azad Jammu & Kashmir since last ten year.
The DHO said that Mirpur district was comprising the total population of 4,38,319 persons which included over 68 thousand children of under five years of age. The targeted children under 05 years of age to be administered the anti-polio drops included 52983 in Mirpur sub division and 15042 in Dadayal sub division in the district.
The district, he said, has been remarked into 25 zones with the induction of one supervisor in each zone to implement the drive.
“One ward Incharge will supervise the campaign in the concerned specified area falling in each Union Council in the district.”, he said adding that a total of 55 Union Councils / Ward Incharges will look after the campaign in all 55 union councils in the district.
Elaborating the district-wise anti-polio drive, Dr. Fida Hussain further said that a total of 230 mobile teams of paramedical staff involving over 400 para-medical workers have been constituted and 41 fixed centers and 14 transit points have been set up in the district to immunize the children with the anti-polio vaccine.
The mobile teams, he said, will visit door to door by strictly acting upon the already devised SOPs in view of the still prevailing but controlled COVID-19 in the state to administer anti-polio drops to children under five years of age.
Dr. Fida Hussain pointed out that in view of the apprehensions of the re-emerging of the novel-corona virus no any transit point has been set up this time of the anti-polio drive in AJK including Mirpur district.
“Only the mobile teams will visit door to door to feed the children with the anti-polio vaccine during the campaign”, he said/ At least four thousand vials of the anti-polio vaccine and vitamin ‘A’ drops have been managed for the vaccination during the campaign, he added.
The DHO advised the parents to cooperate the visiting mobile paramedic teams to make the national anti-polio campaign complete success.
Identical arrangements have also been made in other both Kotli and Bhimbher districts of Mirpur division for the immunization of children up to five years of age during the drive.