Anti-Polio campaign kick-off in Fata today

F.P. Report

PESHAWAR: In response to recently reported polio case from Lakki Marwat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), three days anti polio vaccination campaign in its bordering and nearby polio high risk areas of FATA will start today on Monday, under the supervision and security provided by agency surgeons, political agents, commissioners and armed forces.

This three days anti-polio vaccination campaign in FR Lakki, FR Bannu, FR Tank, FR D.I. Khan and South Waziristan Agency will continue from October 9, 2017 to October 11, 2017, followed by catch up of missed children.

Total of 179693 children below the age of 5 years will be vaccinated by 879 teams: comprising 834 mobile teams, 34 fixed teams and 11 transit teams.

Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Engineer Iqbal Zafar Jhagra has said that “ we are making all out efforts to keep the zero polio case status of FATA, and I am confident that our spirited field workers would continue their hard work to ensure vaccination of every child in every campaign for stopping the transmission of polio virus in FATA.”

EOC FATA Coordinator Dr. Fida Mohammad Wazir said that “we are aiming to boost the immunity of children in high risk areas of FATA that are close to LakkiMarwat district (of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) where polio case was reported in September 2017.”  He advised FATA team to “focus on high risk mobile population to reduce the chances of polio (virus) transmission.”

FATA completed one year without any polio case on July 27^th, 2017. Last polio case in FATA emerged on July 27^th, 2016.  So far in 2017 not a single case is reported from FATA whereas in 2016 (last year) only two polio cases were reported from FATA.