DPEC meeting held at DCO office.

CHITRAL:  Meeting of District Polio Eradication Committee (DPEC) held here under the chair of District Coordination Officer (DCO) Mutasim Billah Shah at his office. Heads of all line departments including civil society also participated the meeting. Dr. Inayatullah EPI (Expanding Program for Immunization) Coordinator briefed the participants regarding latest position of EPI. DCO stressed upon all stakeholders to fully support health teams to eradicate polio disease from our country. He said Chitral is a backward and isolate district by virtue of human resource, logistic and other resources but this is our moral obligatory to convince parents to must administer polio vaccine to their children so as to growth a healthy society. He said no one is safe unless every one is safe and we should to save our children from paralyzing them by Polio. He emphasized on heads of all line department for providing of all possible support like vehicle to EPI for assuring vaccinating of children in each corner of the district. He said we have so many challenges but we can only overcome by collective efforts. He said that if we successes in eradicating polio from our motherland we have to eradicate other diseases like titiness and measles. He said a healthy nation can develop and we should to play our role in this regard.

Explaining the stakeholders Dr. Inayat said that some 96 polio cases have been registered in Pakistan mostly detected in our province. He said 27 polio cases registered at Punjab, 17 in Sindh, 7 cases in Balochistan, 5 cases in Islamabad and 40 polio cases in NWFP. He said we should to discourage refusing cases like in Bajawar agency, Swat, Muhmand Agency etc. He demanded for a transit point at Ashriat to administer polio drops to children coming and going outside of Chitral. He said that vitamin A capsule also be given to children upto the age of 5 years. He said health teams have 75682-target population. To achieve our goal EPI have detailed 231 mobile teams for door-to-door campaign, polio drops along with vitamin A would also be administered in 29 fixed centers, and at 3-transit point (Arandu which is situated at Pak Afghan border, Ashriat and Airport). The campaign will be monitor by 7 district health teams, 4 campaign support persons as well as by independent monitor to assure that no child is missing. He informed the general public to inform them on toll free No 0800 12012 in case on arrival of no team an other team would be detail for that area.

G.H. Farooqi PO Box No 50 GPO Chitral phone No. 0943-302295, 414418, 03025989602