Quetta commissioner chairs online polio task force review meeting

QUETTA: The divisional task force on polio held an online meeting under Quetta Division Commissioner Zeeshan Lashari. It reviewed the overall polio situation in the division and arrangements for the next polio campaign.

The meeting reviewed in detail the performance of the campaign, missed children, refusals, coverage of no-dose children, security, monitoring and the vaccination system.

Divisional Task Force Coordinator Dr Safdar, AEO Dr Aziz Ahmed, AEO Muhammad Suhail Ahmed, Divisional Officer Dr Imdad Ali and officials of the WHO and other bodies were present at the meeting.

Quetta Deputy Commissioner Mehrullah Badini, Quetta West Deputy Commissioner Munir Ahmed Durrani, Mastung Deputy Commissioner Bahram Khan, Balochistan Provincial EPI Coordinator Dr Aftab Kakar, district health officers, deputy district health officers, and officials of UNICEF, the National Programme, the WHO and other bodies joined the meeting online.

Directives of the meeting

The meeting directed that special attention be paid to missed children, refusals and no-dose children. It also directed that the training of teams be completed soon, before the next polio campaign.

The commissioner said that in union councils with a high number of refusals, the performance of teams should be reviewed and new teams deployed as needed. Given the high number of no-dose children in Mastung, he also directed that the campaign plan be reviewed and coverage improved.

The meeting was told that the number of zero-dose children has fallen from 10,000 to 8,708. However, further steps are needed.

Emphasis was laid on keeping a proper record of children who are repeatedly missed, identifying chronically missed children and ensuring access to them.

In union councils where monitoring is not taking place because of security or access problems, the authorities concerned should take effective steps to resolve the issues.

Commissioner’s directives

Commissioner Zeeshan Lashari directed that union councils with poor performance be scrutinised separately and that the officers concerned be asked to explain their performance.

He stressed the need to improve the training and supervision of teams and their practical performance in the field during the polio campaign.

Performance of the EPI programme

Briefing the meeting on the EPI programme’s performance over the past two months, Balochistan Provincial Coordinator Dr Aftab Kakar said that some vaccination coverage indicators in Quetta had improved. However, he said, further steps are needed in various areas, including Mastung.

He said it was necessary to improve immunisation coverage, data entry, dropouts and the figures on zero-dose children.

In view of the measles cases in Quetta, he stressed increasing immunisation coverage and ensuring timely data entry and accurate field records.

The district health officers concerned were directed to visit basic health units and check the availability of medicines and the attendance of staff.

The meeting also reviewed the performance of vaccinators. It directed that action be taken under the rules against staff who fail to vaccinate zero-dose children or to meet their set targets.

The authorities concerned were also directed to obtain lists of vaccinators and verify their targets and performance.

At the end of the meeting, it was stressed that making the EPI programme effective, increasing immunisation coverage, compiling accurate data and ensuring that the vaccine reaches every child are essential for the eradication of polio.

Photo: courtesy DGPR Balochistan