23.3m children to be inoculated against polio

LAHORE:The health authorities have set a target of vaccinating 23.3 million children across the province during the anti-polio campaign being started from February 3, 2025.

It was observed in the review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman on Friday. Officials from relevant departments and representatives of international organisations working for polio eradication attended the meeting. All divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners joined via video link. The meeting was informed that the campaign will continue until February 9 in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad while in other districts, it will conclude on February 7. The meeting decided that in view of the exams in schools, minimal staff from the Education Department would be engaged in the campaign. The chief secretary directed officers concerned to make the anti-polio campaign effective and successful. He stated that the threat persists as long as the polio virus is present in the environmental samples, adding that the deputy commissioners should personally oversee the campaign. He further emphasised the use of modern technology to achieve the desired results in the polio eradication efforts, noting that digitisation can improve microplans. The chief secretary instructed the deputy commissioners to make special arrangements at transit points for administering vaccines. Secretary Primary Health Nadia Saqib gave a detailed briefing at the meeting. She mentioned that all arrangements for the anti-polio campaign have been completed. A total of 2,654 transit teams, 4,888 fixed teams and 85,000 mobile teams have been formed for the campaign, she concluded.