LAHORE: Khizer Afzaal, coordinator of the Emergency Operations Center and head of the Punjab polio program, has urged the district health authorities (DHAs) to take charge of the anti-polio campaigns, warning that a “laid back approach” will not be accepted.
On Thursday, the coordinator oversaw a video conference with the staff of partners and all 36 district health chief executive officers (CEOs) to discuss the anti-polio campaign that took place in February 2024.
Mr. Afzaal voiced worries about “poor quality micro plans” and “unplanned” orientation and training sessions for polio teams at the meeting.
Concerning the DHAs’ seeming complacency, he stated that in order to reach every child during the anti-polio campaigns, the micro plans needed to be updated on a regular basis. He also urged the CEOs to personally get involved in the campaign planning.
Punjab program leader worries about the accuracy of the data
“Care must be taken when organizing the training sessions to guarantee that no inexperienced team member is used in the campaign,” he emphasized.
He stated that the deputy commissioners (DCs) in question should be kept up to date on the DHAs’ performance in polio campaigns and advised the officers who are not serious about eradicating polio to consider pursuing another career.
The field validation of polio campaign data was given to the EOC coordinator at the meeting. He did, however, express his dissatisfaction with the data’s quality regarding child coverage.
He emphasized the importance of data quality and gave health officials instructions to confront employees who were being careless with their data.
“The virus continues to be found in major cities while the world keeps a careful eye on us and waits for polio to be eradicated [in Pakistan]. We must raise our game instead of playing the sorry card. “A slack attitude will not be accepted,” he said.
The coordinator also looked over information on “zero doze” kids that were found during the polio campaigns and gave districts two days to enter the pertinent data into the system.
The EOC coordinator was also informed on vaccination rates and wastage during the review. He urged the district administrations to use the polio vaccine sparingly, being sure not to use it too little or waste it.
He told the attendees that the polio campaigns’ quality assurance metrics had been significantly tightened.
“There won’t be any interim outcomes. Either red or green will be present. No yellow zones, he declared.
Punjab is preparing a campaign in response to the poliovirus found in some city environmental samples, according to the head of the EOC.
The districts where the virus was discovered are Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan, Okara, Kasur, and certain union councils of Rahim Yar Khan, in addition to Rajanpur, he stated. “The campaign’s scope is being finalized,” he said, adding that Sub-National Immunization Drives (SNIDs) will begin in these districts in April.
As the virus spread with the families in transit, Mr. Afzaal asked the districts to keep a close eye on the child immunization stations.
