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HYDERABAD, Dec 02 (APP): Commissioner Shaheed Benazirabad Division, Shahmeer Khan Bhutto, has said that polio eradication is a shared responsibility and emphasized that Health Department should not depend solely on donor agencies for the campaign. He was addressing a meeting of Divisional Task Force on Polio in Nawabshah.
Commissioner said that support from international organizations, donor agencies and NGOs is based on goodwill and cannot be held accountable for the shortcomings of local departments. He stressed that primary responsibility lies with the Health Department and District Health Officers, while other organizations are only assisting them.
He expressed dissatisfaction over the District Emergency Operation Center not being fully functional and directed health officials to strengthen monitoring of polio teams. He instructed all relevant institutions to utilize their resources for polio eradication and ordered salary deductions and penalties for individuals showing negligence in the campaign.
Earlier, WHO Divisional Coordinator, Dr. Jahangir Korai, briefed the meeting that National Anti-Polio Campaign will begin across the Shaheed Benazirabad Division on 15 December. He said that more than 1.1 million children under five years age would be administered polio drops during the campaign, for which 3,750 teams have been deployed.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Shaheed Benazirabad Abdul Samad Nizamani, Additional Commissioner Muhammad Ibrahim Almani, Additional Commissioner-II Syed Ammar Hussain, Director Primary Education Deen Muhammad Pathan, Director Secondary Education Riaz Ahmed Ujjan, Director Information Muhammad Moosa Gondal, Assistant Commissioner Naushahro Feroze Ali Shan, District Health Officers of all three districts, representatives of PPHI, Police, and officers from other concerned departments.