PESHAWAR:Malakand Division Commissioner Iqbal Hussain Bacha has directed health authorities to focus on underperforming districts and union councils and strengthen monitoring to improve polio vaccination coverage during the upcoming campaign.
He issued the directives while chairing a meeting with World Health Organization (WHO) Malakand Area Coordinator Khawaja Irfan and regional information officers to review polio eradication efforts and data on health facilities.
The WHO area coordinator briefed the meeting on the responsibilities of technical field staff, vaccination coverage, equipment requirements and administrative and operational arrangements for the campaign.
The commissioner directed officials to provide WHO’s introductory profile and detailed information about health facilities in digital format. He also ordered verification of data on solar-powered health facilities and its comparison with records maintained by the additional deputy commissioners (Finance and Planning) and (Relief and Human Resources) in Shangla.
The meeting also reviewed the Sub-National Immunization Days (SNIDs) campaign conducted in September. The commissioner directed officials to identify areas with weak performance and take targeted measures to improve vaccination coverage.
He said district health officers would lead the campaign, while designated health staff would administer polio drops to children. Other government departments and community volunteers would assist when required.
The commissioner directed authorities to keep control rooms operational throughout the campaign and immediately refer technical and administrative issues from the field to the District Emergency Operations Centre (DEOC) for timely resolution.
He also ordered deputy commissioners to chair meetings of District Polio Eradication Committees during the campaign. He directed officials to keep these meetings within 30 minutes and focus on campaign shortcomings, officers’ responsibilities and deadlines for resolving identified issues.
The meeting’s decisions and directives were communicated to the provincial secretary of health, deputy commissioners of Malakand Division, the WHO area coordinator and regional information officers.