No polio case reported in Khyber since 2019

1 min read
KHYBER: Khyber tribal district has reported no polio case since 2019 and largely controlled vaccination refusals due to community mobilisation campaigns and involvement of local volunteers for immunisation, said speakers at an event on 24 Feb 2024.

Health officials called the Alliance Building and Sensitisation Session with elected representatives and influencers from Landi Kotal tehsil ahead of the upcoming National Immunisation Day campaign.The organisers said the event was called to `garner support for polio vaccination, delink demands-based vaccination refusals, cover the children who missed immunisation, and engage all influencers for reaching out to all children under five years of age for vaccination.

Communication officer of the Polio Eradication Programme Said Afzal Shinwari highlighted the major issues and best practices recorded in the last immunisation campaigns and urged people`s elected representatives to play their due role in addressing issues of mass boycott of vaccination campaigns and immunisation refusals, and eliminating polio.

He said the upcoming polio campaign would commence on March 3 and last until March 9 targeting 223,000 children under the age of five years.

Mr Shinwari said 923 polio teams would administer anti-polio drops to children in Khyber district.

He said refusal of polio vaccination on religious grounds in Khyber was the lowest compared with other regions of the country.

`Only demands-based immunisation refusals were reported in isolated places during previous campaigns butwe effectively tackled them,` he said.

Chairman of the Landi Kotal tehsil council Shah Khalid highlighted the role of elected representatives in advocating polio vaccination saying they can allocate resources, legislate, and raise awareness to ensure vaccination of children against diseases, including polio.

Elected members of all neighbouring and village councils as well as prominent influencers promised support for polio vaccination and said they would actively participate in the NID campaign and encourage children’s vaccination against polio.

Acknowledgement: Published in Dawn News on 25th Feb 2024.
Previous Story

Bike snatchers kill infant girl

Next Story

Rape cases Plea for striking down law criminalising abortion

Latest from Blog

Schools Violating Vacation Orders Penalised

SWABI: Complaints pouring in from different circles have forced the officials of the district administration to take action against schools who failed to comply with the provincial government’s order of summer holidays. The provincial education department has closed both public and private sector schools for summer holidays on June 15,…

Three Booked For Rape Of Ninth-grader

SAHIWAL: Police have registered a case against three suspects and arrested two of them for allegedly molesting and blackmailing a 15-year-old ninth-grade student through a mobile phone video in the official quarters of the irrigation department in Neeli Bar Canal Colony. Reports said ‘S’ of Sarwar Shaheed Road, Civil Lines,…

Three Pakistani Schools Among Top 10 Finalists For World’s Best School Prizes

ISLAMABAD: Three Pakistani schools have been named among the Top 10 finalists for the World’s Best School Prizes 2025. The prizes, launched by T4 Education in 2022 following the COVID-19 pandemic, aim to highlight innovative practices in schools that are transforming lives both inside and outside the classroom, according to…

Three Missing Hindu Girls Recovered From Karachi

Three underage Hindu girls who had mysteriously gone missing from Shahdadpur recently have been recovered from Karachi. Officials said on Thursday that Dr Lal Chand Ukrani, special assistant to the chief minister of Sindh on minority affairs, had taken serious notice of the incident and directed law enforcement agencies to…

STBB Committee Calls For Creativity And Tolerance In School Curricula

Hyderabad: The Sindh Textbook Board (STBB) reviewed committee has emphasised the inclusion of critical thinking, creativity and tolerance in school curricula. Officials said on 18-June-2025 that on the directives of Sindh Minister for Education Syed Sardar Ali Shah, the first meeting of the curriculum review committee formed by the Sindh…
Go toTop