Pakistan calls for polio vaccination in high-security districts
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
The Pakistan Secretary of Health has named delivering polio vaccines to children a "top priority", as areas affected by security in the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federal Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of the country become inaccessible to vaccination teams. The Health Secretary, Khushnood Akhtar Lashari, urged officials from the Provincial Health Department of NWFP to include polio eradication as part of negotiations with local militants, during an emergency meeting between the federal ministry of health for NWFP and FATA. Additional Secretary for Health, Imtiaz Inayat Elahi, also called for the implementation of polio teams within restricted areas, as well as special vaccination points at entrances to districts where access is limited. Special arrangements were made to focus a current polio campaign in high-risk areas, launched on July 28th, and Mr Lashari said the Prime Minister was also being requested to launch a national polio campaign in August.