LAHORE: Punjab Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator Khizer Afzaal says data accuracy is the red-line of the EOC and directed health officials across the province to mark the missing children in the upcoming anti-polio campaign starting from Sept 9.
Giving a target of 13.9 million children to be accessed in 15 districts of the province, the Punjab polio programme head issued a warning to those persistently showing poor performance in the campaigns.
Mr Khizer said so while presiding over a polio campaign readiness meeting of District Health Management Teams (DHMTs) of 15 districts on Wednesday. Warning for poor performers
The districts include Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Attock, Chakwal, Multan, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Muzaffargarh, DG Khan, Rajanpur, RY Khan, Okara, Sheikhupura and Gujranwala.
Addressing the participants, the EOC coordinator said that Punjab had reported its first polio case in August.
He said the positive environmental samples suggested that unvaccinated children were reported even after every polio campaign.
“The intense virus circulation indicated no place was safe from virus and our children were at heightened risk”, the EOC Coordinator lamented.
He asked provincial monitors to beef up monitoring in catch-up days and submit detailed reports to the EOC in case they find evidence of lackluster performances.
The EOC coordinator also showed concern over sub-optimal micro-planning by the district officials and polio workers and urged the DHMTs to do some soul searching and conduct regular analysis of gaps and loopholes during and after the campaign.
The district health officials briefed the EOC head about measures taken to improve the quality of campaigns like the introduction of new colour schemes in micro-plans to identify missed children in repeated rounds and measures taken to focus on their coverage.
Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2024
