The Pakistan Ministry of Health has clearly laid down a policy to guide the provinces in effectively managing the polio immunization drive!

Going by the guidelines given by the Ministry of Heath, the provinces have been asked to effectively run awareness campaigns for making the parents aware of the need to get anti-polio drops administered to their children --- more so as it is basically the children who face the maximum risk of being hit by the highly infectious viral disease.

The instructions – which are aimed at ensuring 100-percent coverage during the country’s anti-polio drive – from the Ministry have come after a number of complaints were received from the citizens that district health teams mostly miss giving the children anti-polio drops during the national polio immunization program.

In addition, according to information shared by an official of Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), the directives were necessary in the wake of the fact that the law and order situation largely impeded the health teams in continuing anti-polio drive in Swat, and that resulted in an increase in polio cases in the area.

However, to compensate for the lapse, and with the situation having improved, the recent polio eradication drives ensured that polio drops were administered to children in Swat. In fact, the ministry of Health intends immunizing the maximum number of children in Swat during every polio eradication drive!