Marriyum Aurangzeb credits legislators for improvement in routine immunization programme

ISLAMABAD May 17 (APP): Minister of State for Information,
Broadcasting and National Heritage Marriyum Aurangzeb, who is also Convener of the Parliamentary Task Force on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), said Wednesday that landmark achievements in anti-polio immunization programme across the country were the outcome of the oversight role of the parliamentarians.
While chairing the meeting of the task force here to discuss the overview of SDGs on good health and routine immunization, she said that whenever the members of the task force raised the issues related to health, the Ministry of Health and Planning Commission took immediate remedial measures.
Marriyum Aurangzeb emphasized the vital role of parliamentarians in improving and strengthening immunization campaign at the constituency level for saving the lives of children.
About the milestones achieved in the Punjab, she said that attendance of the vaccinators was being ensured and monitoring of immunization process had been improved and transportation problems of the field staff also had been resolved.
She said that immunization process has
been reinforced with a technology-based surveillance as the
vaccination cards issued to the families had a chip which made
it impossible for the vaccinators to enter the wrong figures
She said that Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif was personally monitoring the performance of the field staff. The minister said that the vaccinators who did not take the job seriously had been terminated and on the other hand incentives had been given for good work.
Dr Saqlain Gilani from Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI), Pakistan told the committee that federal health ministry was very active in immunization drive and this could be gauged by the fact that Balochistan had been given Rs 7 billion for the purpose.
He said that Punjab immunization programme was being show-cased due to successful achievement of 89 percent coverage in the province so far.
Earlier in another briefing, the meeting was informed that now no area of the country was away from the spotlight and the necessary technical assistance was being extended wherever needed while the attendance of the vaccinators was being marked through smart phone applications.
The MNAs gave their proposals to further improve the immunization drive in all parts of the country. Sheryar Afridi said that the members of the SDGs Task Force should be invited to attend meetings of the parliamentary committees on Health.
He said that Punjab has become a trend-setter in immunization programme which should be appreciated.
The meeting was attended by Seema Mohiuddin Jameeli, Farhana Qamar, Zahra Wahood Fatemi, Tahira Aurangzeb,Romina Khursheed, Syed Ashiq Hussain Shah,Malik Uzair Khan, Mehreen Razaque Bhutto, Shehryar Afridi,Munazza Hassan,Shaza Fatima Khawaja,Naeema Kishwar Khan and Nafeesa Inaytullah Khattak.