Mirpur-AJK sets target to immunize 72422 children with polio vaccine, vitamin ‘A’ drops during 05-day national anti-polio drive commencing from May 23

Altaf Hamid Rao.

MIRPUR (AJK),   (Parliament Times) : In this lake-district of Mirpur, AJK, a total of 72422 children under 05 years of age would be administered polio vaccine and vitamin ‘A’ drops during the 5-day nation-wide anti-polio campaign commencing across the country including Azad Jammu Kashmir from Monday May 23, Mirpur District Health Officer Dr. Fida Hussain has said.

The district has been divided into six zones with the induction of the one supervisor in each zone to implement the drive. One Ward In charge will supervise the campaign in the determined area falling in each Union Council in the district, the D.H.O disclosed while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the drive in this district here on Saturday.

Mirpur Deputy Commissioner Ch. Amjad Iqbal was the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony hosted at the DHO office here who administered the polio vaccine besides the vitamin ‘A’ drops to the children under 05 years of age.

Besides the DHO Dr. Fida Hussain, Medical Officer Mirpur Division Teaching Hospital Dr. Amir Aziz, Additional DHO Dr. Nadeem Ahmed Fazaldar, Dr. Fatima Yaqoob, Additional Principal Medical Officer, Dr. Mariya Zulfqar, Div. Surveillance Officer WHO, Divisional Chief PID Mirpur Javed Mallick, Senior Kashmiri Journalist Altaf Hamid Rao, Assistant Director Health Corona Wing Riaz Ahmed and others administered the polio-vaccine and vitamin ‘A’ drops.

The DHO continued that Medical officers will supervise the campaign in all 28 Union Councils besides the Ward Incharges deputed to supervise the drive in 88 other union councils in this native district of over seven lakh UK-based Kashmiri expatriates.

Dr. Fida said that a total of 400 mobile teams were constituted and 40 fixed centers have been set up in the district to immunize the children with the anti-polio vaccine. Besides, 14 transit points have also been carved out in various parts of Mirpur district to feed the traveling children with the anti-polio vaccine and vitamin ‘A’ drops during the campaign.

Speaking on this occasion Deputy Commissioner Ch. Amjad Iqbal advised the parents to get their children saved from the disease of polio by fully cooperating the mobile para-medics teams, besides the transit points and fixed centers by getting their children under 05 years of age immunized with the polio vaccine and the vitamin ‘A’ drops to make the national anti-polio campaign complete success.
to be exercised from May 23 to May 27 across the district besides rest of the country including AJK.

The DC emphasized that there was earnest need of accountability and commitment to this global cause for achieving the target for complete eradication of this fatal disease.

Meanwhile it is officially stated that no any case of polio disease to any child was reported in Azad Jammu Kashmir including in this district since the year of 2000.