MIRPUR (AJK): To eradicate the menace of polio from the country, a five-day integrated nationwide anti-polio campaign was commenced in Azad Jammu and Kashmir on Monday.
AJK Health Services Department has set the target of immunizing over 0.7 million children under five years of age across the AJK State with the Polio vaccine and vitamin ‘A’ drops in all 10 districts in the liberated territory.
AJK Health Department sources told that only in AJK’s capital Muzaffarabad, over 1.20 lac children up to five years would be administered the Polio vaccines and vitamin ‘A’ drops during the drive, to be continued till January 20 without any pause.
At least 3859 mobile teams of paramedical staff have been constituted for door-to-door vaccination and vitamin ‘A’ drops during the campaign across AJK – where a total of 432 fixed centers at local govt. hospitals and subordinate health facilities have been set up by the Polio Eradication Committee of the AJK Health Services Department with the coordination of the World Health Organization (WHO), they added.
The total staff, involved in the AJK-wide national drive included mobile teams comprising over 5000 workers visiting door to door to immunize the children, and under 5 years of age with the polio vaccine, the sources underlined.
The fixed centers have been set up at the state-run hospitals, basic health units, rural health centers as well as various other spots to vaccinate the children with the anti-polio drops, they added.
A total of 156 transit points have also been set up for conducting the drive under the supervision of the concerned area supervisors, sources said.
The state health department’s Polio Eradication Committee have made adequate arrangement to executive the polio-eradication campaign in a befitting manner, the sources asserted adding that a total of 844 area in charge will supervise the drive at the union council’s level across AJK in 35 tehsils and besides a total of 245 Union Council throughout AJK.
A central polio control room has been set up in the office of the Provincial Program Manager EPI in Muzaffarabad to monitor the drive and to receive any complaints.
It may be added that the state health authorities claimed that there had been no case of polio disease to any child detected in any part of AJK over the last 23 years.