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MIRPUR (AJK), Apr 21 (APP):The five-day nation-wide polio eradication drive on Monday began in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) to protect children up to five years age from permanent disabilities.
President of the District Bar Association Mirpur, Mahmood Hussain Plakvi inaugurated the drive by administrating polio vaccine drops to children up to the age of five years at the office of the District Health Officer Mirpur.
On this occasion, District Health Officer Mirpur Dr. Fida Hussain said that the teams of the Mirpur District Public Health Department would go door to door in the entire district and administer polio drops to all children up to the age of five.
He said that carrying out the polio campaign in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir as a national, religious and moral duty was not only the responsibility of the government or the Public Health Department, but it was also important for every citizen and people belonging to all schools of thought to play role in immunizing anti-polio vaccine to the children .
He said that during the five-day campaign, Mirpur district had been divided into forty-nine union councils/wards and trained supervisors had been appointed to administer polio drops to children up to the age of five.
As per the instructions of WHO, to make the polio campaign successful, 2 Tehsil Supervisors, 35 Union Council Monitoring Officers and 103 Union Council Ward In-charges have been appointed to supervise the teams at the level of Municipal Corporation Mirpur, Municipal Committee Islamgarh, Chakswari and Municipal Committee Dadial as well as at the level of twenty-seven Union Councils. Under the supervision of these in-charges, 439 mobile teams and 41 fixed centers have been appointed at health centers to administer polio drops to 76,656 children up to the age of five years. Transit points have also been set up at 14 different necessary places for children traveling with their parents.
He appealed to the state government functionaries and private schools to cooperate with the polio teams of the Public Health Department visiting homes and schools and ensure that children up to the age of five years receive polio vaccine drops.
The District Health Officer said that in the past, the polio campaign was very successful due to the dedication, hard work and good strategy of the Public Health Department along with the cooperation of the public.
He said that due to the successful strategy of the State Health Department of the government and the tireless work of the polio teams, no polio case had been reported in AJK so far.
“Without the cooperation of the public, polio cannot be completely eradicated. To achieve this goal, we will have to fully and completely cooperate with the polio teams of the Public Health Department,” he added.
Dr. Fida Hussain said that by utilizing the dedication and hard work of the polio teams, the mobile teams and fix centers would achieve the target by100 percent of the drive from April 21 to 25.