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15m children to be immunised against polio by 24th: CM

Staff Report

LAHORE: Fifteen million children up to five years of age will be vaccinated under the polio vaccination campaign from January 22 till January 24, caretaker Chief Minister (CM) Justice (r) Ejaz Nisar said on Monday.

Addressing the launching ceremony of the campaign at the Children’s Hospital, he said healthcare facilities and vaccination against various epidemic diseases are the basic right of every child. He said polio’s eradication was a national obligation and a global commitment. The drive against polio had been initiated with the cooperation of the World Health Organisation and The United Nations Children’s Fund, he added. Health Minister Aslam Hamayun, Health secretary Mohammad Anwaar Ahmad Khan and Children Hospital medical superintendent Dr Ahsan Waheed Rathor also spoke on the occasion.

The CM said 37,408 mobile teams of the Health Department would conduct a door-to-door visit and administer the vaccine to every child under five.

He said the Health Department workers and volunteers should make the campaign a success. The media should play its role in updating people about the anti-polio campaign, he added.

The CM said parents should ensure that their children were immunised against polio. The government was making efforts to eradicate polio from the country by the year’s end, he added.

The Health minister said it was our national responsibility to take care of the physical and mental health of our children.

The Health secretary said the health budget of the province had reached Rs 9 billion during the last five years and 2,500 basic health units had been upgraded during this period. He said the anti-polio campaign would be carried out successfully. The CM inaugurated the anti-polio campaign by administering the polio vaccine to the children.

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