LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin said Polio campaign will start in nine districts of the province from January 24 (tomorrow); she said this while talking on the occasion of distribution ceremony of Naya Pakistan Qaumi Sehat Cards among residents of UC-71 in NA-125 here on Saturday.
She said last year six polio campaigns were conducted in Punjab. By the blessings of the Almighty, Punjab did not report a single Polio case in one year. “I appeal parents to get their children vaccinated for polio. Pakistan is on its way to becoming Polio free.”
Ali Amir, Jehangir Khan, Sattar Khan, Chaudhry Abdul Ghafoor Pappu, Rana Nasim and a large number of local residents were present on this occasion. The Minter also administered polio drops to children.
Dr Yasmin Rashid said, “Prime Minister Imran Khan has provided health insurance coverage worth Rs1 million to every family of Punjab and people are praying for Prime Minister for this great service. Thousands of families are utilising free healthcare services under the Sehat Sahult Programme.
Since 1st January, 1200 people have availed cardiac surgery facility in Lahore division alone worth 120 million. Over 650 people have availed eye treatment facility worth 9.2 million in Lahore division. Naya Pakistan Qaumi Sehat Card is being given to family heads. All family heads must get their family record updated at Nadra. “Punjab is witnessing an increase in corona cases. I appeal people to follow SOPs to control corona. Only by use of mask, we can stop the spread of the virus by 70%”.
Meanwhile, Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid chaired an important meeting of the Steering Committee of Ganga Ram Mother and Child Block at the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department here on Saturday.
Secretary Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department Ahmed Javed Qazi, Special Secretary M Ajmal Bhatti, Special Secretary Dr Asif Tufail, Vice Chancellor Fatima Jinnah Medical University Professor Amir Zaman Khan, MD Children Hospital Professor Dr M Salim, MS Ganga Ram Hospital Dr Athar, Sheikh Ijaz and officials of the C&W Department were present in the meeting. Members of the steering committee Professor Dr Ayesha Dr Naeem Majeed, Dr Zainab and Dr. Tayyaba also joined the meeting. Members of the Steering Committee shared their proposals and the Chair reviewed them.
The Health Minister said, “Different Units will be set up on the recommendations of the Steering Committee. An Advisory Group will be constituted very soon for the Mother and Child Block. This Block will be completed in time and opened for public very soon. There will be four Special Units in the Mother and Child Block. All facilities for Mother and Child Health will be provided under one roof. These hospitals shall help us save thousands of lives. This will be one-of-a-kind hospital in Pakistan.”
Meanwhile, the Sub-National Immunisation Drive (SNID) against polio will be held from Monday (tomorrow) in nine districts of Punjab.
Districts included in the campaign are Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan, Muzaffargarh, RY Khan, DG Khan, Rajanpur and Mianwali. In Mianwali, the campaign will be held in selected union councils. It will be a five-day campaign including two days allocated for catch up to reach the missed children.
Over 6.9 million under five children will be reached for vaccination during the five-day campaign which will continue till January 28. Over 60,000 polio workers will participate in the campaign including area-in-Charges, district and union council supervisors, mobile team, fixed team members and transit team members.
The Provincial Emergency Operations Centre has deployed experts from all areas to facilitate preparedness and implementation of campaign activities by the local teams in priority areas. All frontline polio workers have been thoroughly trained on COVID-19 SOPs, protocols, and preventive measures to be followed during household and field visits during vaccination, as well as have been fully equipped with PPEs.
“Government’s leadership and the hard work of polio teams has given fruitful results. Punjab has not reported any polio case for over 14 months now”, said Ms Sundas Irshad, head of the polio programme in Punjab.
“Environmental samples also indicate a promising epidemiological outlook for polio eradication in Pakistan, Punjab in particular. All environmental samples in Punjab are negative for the last seven months”, the head of the polio proramme added.
“Reaching and sustaining zero polio cases and transmission requires even greater efforts. Therefore, the programme must continue to focus on implementing high-quality campaigns that reach all children under five years”, the polio programme head pledged. The Punjab polio eradication programme head called on parents and caregivers to cooperate with the polio teams for the safe future of their children.