Mr Khizer Afzaal Chaudhary called on Rawalpindi District Health Authority

Rawalpindi, (Parliament Times) : Punjab Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator and head of the polio programme in Punjab Mr Khizer Afzaal Chaudhary has called upon Rawalpindi District Health Authority to ensure recording and vaccination of children who are missed in polio campaigns so that polio virus reinfection could be prevented.
Mr Khizer was talking to participants of a polio review meeting called in the commissioner office of Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Mr Nazarat Ali, District Health Authority officials and polio eradication partners participated in the meeting.
“Polio eradication efforts are facing a stiff challenge in Rawalpindi. The district is a second home to populations arriving from Afghanistan and all over the country. So, it is absolutely critical to focus on recording and vaccination of all children who have missed their vaccination in polio campaigns”, underscored the EOC coordinator.
During the meeting, the head of polio programme in Punjab laid emphasis on registration and profiling of high-risk mobile communities. “Accurate data of mobile communities leaves less chance of children being missed and could help in resolution of issues which could otherwise have been overlooked”, urged the EOC coordinator.
Mr Khizer called on the district administration to increase the strength of language appropriate polio teams. “New teams which are well versed in local languages especially Pashtu need to be constituted in priority communities areas so that there is no language barrier and all children are accessed and vaccinated”, added Mr Khizer Afzaal.
The EOC head instructed the district to ensure data collection was up to the mark and supervisors needed to make sure that only authentic data is entered into the system.
During the meeting the EOC coordinator urged districts to provide security to transit polio teams. he urged the district health Authority to submit comprehensive report on provision of security to polio teams.
Speaking on the occasion Additional Deputy Commissioner Mr Nazarat Ali Shah called on the District Health Authority to ensure that upcoming polio campaign was of top quality. He cautioned the officials to remain vigilant during polio eradication campaigns.
Although Punjab is free of polio case since October 2020, but recent sewage sample results from Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur and Sialkot have been of much concern.
The presence of polio virus must send an urgent message to parents to ensure that children are administered two polio drops under every immunization drive.