PESHAWAR - shahzad Bangash, Chief secretary Khyber pakhtunkhwa, while chairing the provincial Task Force (PTF) Meeting on Tuesday, praised the collaboration of all partners working under the umbrella of the provincial emergency Operations Center (peOC) and the health department, saying that all stakeholders will be encouraged to do their part to ensure the eradication of the crippling disease polio from the region. arshad Khan, DIG Operations CpO Khyber pakhtunkhwa, asif Iqbal, additional secretary population welfare, additional secretary Finance, Director PMRU, representation of 11 corps, Lt Col amjad, Director General health services Kp, shaheen afridi, provincial head of rotary International rauf rohaila, UNICEF Team Lead Polio Eradication Initiative (peI), hamesh Young, additional secretary health (polio eradication), asif rahim, Director epI, Dr arif, Team Lead N Stop, Dr Hafizullah, National Professional Officer whO, Dr Kamran waheed, Deputy Director eOC, Muhammad Zeeshan Khan, and others were also present. The meeting was also streamed live to all commissioners and deputy commissioners through a video link. speaking on the occasion, shahzad Bangash underscored the need for focus on community engagement to raise awareness on the significance of essential immunisation saying it is very important to connect with the communities, improve coordination at all levels and encourage factual reporting to get the real data from the field that trigger issue based corrective measures. he stated that each round of anti-polio campaigns requires a significant amount of effort, coordination, and resources and that it was critical to ensure the best utilisation and benefits from all of these efforts by putting in place a stringent monitoring and accountability system at all levels. “No polio case has been detected for the last three months while all environmental locations are negative suggesting good progress in the campaign against polio”, remarked shahzad Bangash. he praised and thanked all local and international partners for their efforts to eradicate polio, including WHO, UNICEF, the Health Department, field staff, district administrations, District Health Officers, the Army, and the police, and urged the adoption of data-driven strategies to close the remaining gaps in the region’s polio eradication. The Chief secretary emphasised the need of stepping up efforts to reach the finish line, stating that with the collaboration and assistance of all line departments and government officials, the dream of a polio-free pakistan will soon become a reality. earlier, asif rahim, additional secretary health (polio eradication)/Coordinator eOC, briefed the forum in detail on the province’s ongoing anti-polio campaign, epidemiology and surveillance updates, the updated status of environmental sites, campaign performance in southern Kp intensified extended outreach activities (eOas), new interventions adopted by provincial eOC to achieve the desired results in terms of improved field reporting and coverage of missed children. he also informed the audience about new interventions, including the Mehsud belt of south waziristan’s ring strategy, extended outreach activities (eOas), positive environmental site cleanups, streamlined reporting, presence, and corrective actions by campaign monitors. The eOC Coordinator updated the meeting on the status of the ongoing anti-polio drive in the province, stating that the drive was launched in two phases, the first from January 02 to January 06, 2023, in Bannu, Lakki Marwat, North waziristan, D. I. Khan, Tank, and south waziristan (Upper & Lower), and the second from January 16, 2023, in the remaining 29 districts of the province.
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