PESHAWAR: KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has said that he is monitoring anti-polio campaigns in the province as the eradication of the virus is one of the top priorities of his government.
“Elimination of polio is our national obligation and above politics and all other commitments, so there will be no compromise on the protection of children from the vaccine-preventable disease,” Mr. Gandapur told the focal person of the Prime Minister on polio eradication, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, in a meeting.
The chief minister said that it was encouraging to note that no polio case was reported in the province in the current year, according to an official statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Secretariat on Monday.
He added that his government was carrying out anti-polio vaccination drives in the province despite the delicate law and order situation.
“Special attention is given to the areas where vaccination campaigns face issues,” he said.
Mr. Gandapur underscored the need for out-of-the-box solutions to the polio issue in “hard areas.”
He said that his government floated some suggestions for polio eradication in the National Polio Task Force meeting and if they’re effectively implemented, the fight against polio would be successful.
The chief minister urged authorities to engage local communities to make anti-polio drives more effective in problematic areas and to strengthen routine immunization for better results.
He said that anti-polio campaigns should be launched in a staggered manner at the divisional level in areas with law and order issues.
Mr. Gandapur lauded the role of frontline polio workers in the fight against the virus and said that vaccinators and security personnel deputed for their security were the nation’s heroes.
“We provincial government value the sacrifices of polio workers and security personnel in the line of duty,” he said.
The chief minister said that the provincial government was giving away free plots to legal heirs of workers who embraced martyrdom during vaccination duties in recognition of their sacrifices.
Acknowledgement: Published in Dawn News on 9 July 2024.
