Peshawar  -  The last vaccination drive of the year was formally launched in the province at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday, demonstrating the government’s strong resolve and commitment to polio eradication and stopping virus transmission in the environment through repeated vaccination drives.

The five-day drive, set to commence on December 16, was formally launched at a ceremony held at the provincial EOC. The event was attended by the Special Secretary of Health and EOC Coordinator, the Deputy Coordinator of the EOC, representatives from UNICEF, WHO, and NSTOP, officials from the health department, and a large number of media representatives.

As a recognition of the support of media organizations and the journalists’ community in the fight against polio, EOC Coordinator Abdul Basit invited media personnel to inaugurate the drive. A female journalist administered polio drops to a child to formally kick off the campaign in the province.

Addressing the inauguration ceremony, Abdul Basit said that all possible measures are being taken to stop the circulation of the polio virus in the province. Referring to the detection of polio cases, he expressed deep concern over the fact that 18 children have been affected so far this year, stressing that vaccinating every child during each campaign is essential to improving the immunity of children against this crippling virus.

Sharing details of the campaign, EOC Coordinator Abdul Basit explained that during this drive, polio drops will be administered to approximately 7.3 million children under five across the province, with the exception of district Kurram, where the campaign has been deferred for now.

He confirmed that all arrangements have been finalized for the successful implementation of the campaign, adding that 42,161 teams of trained polio workers, including 32,387 mobile teams, 6,301 observers, 1,967 fixed teams, 1,342 transit teams, and 164 roaming teams, have been formed to administer polio drops. Additionally, 8,273 area in-charges have been appointed for the vigilant supervision of these teams to ensure that all children in the target areas receive the polio vaccine.

To ensure foolproof security for the polio teams during the campaign, approximately 54,000 security personnel have been deployed in the target areas, he concluded.