Hyderabad: Provincial Minister for Health Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho on Thursday asserted to achieve 100% target of anti-polio campaign in all districts of Hyderabad.
This she stated while chairing a meeting of Deputy Commissioners and DHOs of Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas Divisions regarding upcoming anti-polio campaigns at Shahbaz Hall, Shahbaz Building Hyderabad today. Sindh Health Minister directed the DHOs to update micro plan to ensure 100 percent coverage particularly in low performing union councils. She also underlined the need to cover refusal cases and also devise am affective strategy in this regard.
She expressed concerns over less coverage in remote areas union councils of District Mirpurkhas, Sujawal, Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Badin and Thatta, and asked concerned officers to make plan to involve folks along with health workers so that 100 percent coverage of the vaccination could be ensured. She said no negligence would be tolerated during the campaign and make all efforts as we wanted to make years 2022 as polio free year.
Responding to the briefing on the campaign by the concerned DCs of the districts, she said that not a single-child should be left without administering polio drops. She informed that action plan was going to be chalked out wherein incentives would be increased for polio teams while new staff would be recruited in those district where staff-shortage was one of cause of less coverage and added that the absent staff and health-officers would be dealt with strictly.
She directed to deploy polio teams at all railway stations and entry points between cities so that no child could be left without administering polio-drops. She said that local people should also be hired to motivate reluctant parents in far-flung areas where access of the teams is difficult due to security.
She directed the District Health officers to make profile of each Union-Council so that Failures of campaign operation issues could be addressed. She stressed upon covering Afghan refugees where ever they are settled. The meeting was attended by Health Secretary Sindh Kazim Jatoi, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Qasim Soomro, Commissioner Hyderabad Division Muhammad Abbas Baloch and Deputy Commissioners and DHOS.
Later talking to media persons Provincial Health Minister informed that 170 cases of Omicron has been reported in Karachi while around 500 Coron cases are being reported daily. She said that genomics could not be performed on all people with corona coming from abroad. She said that with the increase in the number of Corona cases, it seems that Omicron cases are increasing while the lockdown will be decided according to the condition and capacity of the hospital.
She said that vaccination is being done in schools and added that it is important for children to wear masks in schools which would help in controlling the increase in the number of cases. She said that concerned officers have been directed to update the micro plan and focus on refusal cases of the cases.