LAHORE:Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Nadia Saqib has directed all teams to intensify efforts on the final day of the polio vaccination campaign to ensure maximum outreach.
She issued this directive while chairing an online review meeting on the progress of the national anti-polio campaign’s fourth day on Friday.
Punjab Anti-Polio Program Head Rana Adeel Tasawur gave a detailed briefing on the campaign’s current status. The secretary directed all officials to visit field to encourage and motivate vaccination teams and urged the health chief executive officers (CEOs) and other officials to document their activities diligently.
Emphasising the importance of “catch-up day,” the health secretary called for maximizing efforts to reach any children who may have been missed. She also advised district officials to spend as much time as possible in the field to improve the campaign’s overall results.
Also in attendance were Dr. Mukhtar Ahmed, Director of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), and Dr. Muhammad Khalil, Director of IRMNCH, alongside CEOs of Health from across the province, who joined via video link.
The nationwide campaign aims to vaccinate over 45 million children against polio. Notably, 43 polio cases have been reported in Pakistan this year, and environmental samples have detected the virus in 20 districts across the country, underscoring the critical need for the intensified efforts called for by Punjab’s health officials.
