| Darwin always wins. |
The mission has called for placing institutional mechanisms in place to ensure effective accountability of officials implementing the polio drive at different levels.
Sharing its preliminary findings at the National Inter-Agency Co-ordination Committee Meeting held here on Wednesday, the mission called for deployment of Lady Health Workers in poorly-performing districts to upscale routine immunisation. The meeting was attended by international partners of the government in the health sector, senior officials from the Ministry of Health and provincial health departments and experts.
The mission also called for greater investment in culturally-sensitive and locally appropriate communication strategies and approaches to mobilise the masses and increase their knowledge of immunisation while addressing public misconceptions and suspicions vis-a-vis immunisation.
Pakistan has reported 45 cases of polio so far this year. The North-Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), as well as Quetta and Karachi are conspicuous for persistent poliovirus circulation. Of the 24 cases reported from the NWFP and the Fata, 23 are officially stated to be from inaccessible to partially accessible areas whereas 3 out of the 4 cases in Karachi are amongst the Pashtun families.
The meeting was informed of the government's intention to strengthen routine immunisation, which has long been neglected. In this context, the federal and provincial health departments have declared October 2009 as the "immunisation month." During the month, an intensive advocacy and public awareness drive will be launched to highlight the issue.