Expanded Program for Immunization, (EPI) Sindh in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and Association of Health Journalists Pakistan organized a Consultation in order to revive immunization activities.
Dr. Sagheer Ahmed, Health Minister Sindh was the Chief Guest on the occasion. Syed Hashim Raza Zaidi, Sindh Health Secretary, Dr. Hafizul Haq Memon, DG Provincial Health Services, Dr. Mazhar Khamesani, Manager EPI Sindh, Dr. Jameel Yousef, Team leader WHO and Raabya Amjad, Communication for Development Specialist UNICEF were among the panelists.
During the Consultations, participants expressed concern over the increase in the number of polio cases and called for revising the vaccination and polio immunization activities. There stressed on the need for strict monitoring, performance evaluation and accountability at all levels to obtain better results of the healthcare initiatives.
Dr. Sagheer Ahmed sharing his views said that it was a matter of great concern that the number of reported polio cases are increasing despite having achieved vaccination coverage of 95 to 100 per cent children below five years during the last few national and sub-national polio immunization campaigns in the province. Pakistan particularly Sindh was being blamed for exporting polio virus to other countries, he said. He emphasized that policymakers and technical managers should reexamine their recommendations and strategies for polio eradication
The Vaccination history of children suffering from polio provided ample evidence that many of them had missed routine immunization drops in their infancy. This was cited by experts as the basic reason behind the absence of immunity in children against the dreaded virus.
Sindh Health department could not be blamed for the routine immunization failure. There was a need to streamline the working of primary and secondary healthcare centres, vaccination activities and federally-run health initiatives.
In a situation when an essential component of health programmes, the primary healthcare and routine immunization were not in the domain of the provincial health department, how could one expect the health department to perform up to the mark against the preventable diseases, he questioned. The minister urged the federal government to devolve the health institutions, funds and management of various schemes, including the primary healthcare set-ups, exactly in the sprit of the 18th constitutional amendment.
He also did not approve a proposal regarding the outsourcing of polio eradication campaigns to NGOs and said that the quarters concerned should make efforts to remove the discrepancies in micro-planning pertaining to both the polio and routine immunization schemes.