Hyderabad: Divisional Commissioner Hyderabad Fayyaz Hussain Abbasi on Tuesday chaired a meeting of the Divisional Task Force for Polio Eradication to review preparations for the seven-day Sub-National Immunization Days (SNID) polio campaign scheduled to be held from September 21 to 27.
The meeting was attended by DIG Hyderabad Tariq Razzaq Dharijo through video link, Health Department officials, representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO), Local Government officers and other concerned officials. Deputy Commissioners and SSPs of all districts of Hyderabad Division also participated through video link.
The meeting reviewed campaign micro-plans, security arrangements, vaccination coverage and monitoring mechanisms.
WHO representatives briefed the meeting that 93 percent preparations for the campaign had been completed, while all training phases would be completed by Friday. They said planning against 13 tracked indicators, human resource mapping and core training had been completed in nine districts, while team training was underway. They, however, stressed the need for further improvement in micro-plans.
Commissioner Fayyaz Hussain Abbasi said environmental samples in Hyderabad had remained negative for four months due to continuous efforts, but recent positive samples were a matter of concern.
He directed officials to give special attention to Hyderabad and Sujawal districts and adopt coordinated and result-oriented measures to make the positive environmental samples negative again.
He directed officials to ensure strict adherence to vaccination procedures, quality administration of polio drops, proper movement of mobile teams and effective monitoring of border and sensitive areas.
The Commissioner also directed officials to focus on hidden refusal cases, unavailable children and missed cases. He ordered effective follow-up of 330 non-responsive cases in Hyderabad and emphasized comprehensive implementation of micro-plans.
He further directed officials to identify malnourished families, refer them to relevant health centres and conduct nutritional surveys to address the nutritional needs of children.
DIG Hyderabad Tariq Razzaq Dharijo said all relevant security agencies should be involved in the campaign, with special attention to sensitive areas, migrant populations, transit points and the coastal belt.
He directed the deployment of additional security personnel in Tando Muhammad Khan, Badin, Thatta, Sujawal and other coastal areas, besides effective monitoring of newly arriving populations in Hyderabad and Jamshoro.
Deputy Commissioner Hyderabad Zain-ul-Abideen Memon said special focus was being given to specific Union Councils in view of positive environmental samples. He said the district had set a target to make the two positive environmental samples negative again.
All Deputy Commissioners of the division assured the Commissioner and DIG Hyderabad of full cooperation and implementation of the directives to ensure successful completion of the polio campaign.