PESHAWAR: With an aim to vaccinate the maximum number of children in what will be the last anti-polio drive for this year, officials began a three-day campaign in seven tribal districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Monday.

According to Kamran Ahmed Afridi, a coordinator at the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) in KP, the Oral Polio Vaccination (OPV) campaign will be followed by another round of vaccinations in case any children are left out in the three-day initiative. The drive will be conducted under the supervision and security provided by the district health officers, deputy commissioners, and security forces.

A total of 892,471 children, below the age of five, will be vaccinated by 4,058 teams, comprising 3,741 mobile teams, 222 fixed teams, and 95 transit teams. 

“The main focus will be on children on the move as traveling families could become a source of transmitting and spreading the poliovirus and affect children at the destination,” Afridi said. 

He directed transit teams to be vigilant, especially in polio reservoir areas and along the inter-district, interprovincial and international borders. “Poliovirus is still in circulation…we must ensure vaccination of every child that moves to and from tribal districts,” he said. 

Without elaborating, he added that a decline in the number of polio cases was due to the hard work of front-line polio workers, even as he advised officials to focus on vaccinations in the Bajaur and Khyber districts during the campaign.

He lauded security forces for their support and in reaching out to people in far-flung areas while ensuring their safety in sensitive areas. He also advised polio teams to ensure every child — especially in the South Waziristan and North Waziristan tribal districts – was given the vaccine. “This year three polio cases were reported from the tribal districts, with two cases from Bajaur and one polio case from the Khyber district. Due to timely vaccinations, all the three children were saved from paralysis,” he said.

Polio workers said that the transmission of the polio virus from one area to another was the main reason, emphasizing on the need to limit its spread.

Last week, a team from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) visited Peshawar and held meetings with the EOC officials which were aimed at reviewing the progress of the anti-polio drive in the tribal districts.

“Director BMGF, Dr. Jay Wenger, and Deputy Director, Dr. Tim, visited the EOC merged areas to review the progress of the Polio Eradication Initiative,” a statement released by the EOC read.

During the visit, Afridi shared a presentation detailing the campaign activities, challenges, and future strategies. “Strategy and the way forward were discussed regarding still missed children, reservoirs spreading, active virus, population migration, permanent transit points (both domestic and at international crossings), and other issues which could further improve campaign effectiveness and quality,” he added.

Dr. Wenger appreciated the EOC’s anti-polio efforts, before committing to support the officials in the interest of the campaign.