KHYBER: The district emergency operation centre khyber has started a series of community awareness sessions in Khyber ahead of the one-week polio vaccination campaign next month.
The officials said that all the necessary arrangements were made to reach out to all 211,345 children below the age of five during the week-long campaign, starting from September 1.
They said the preparations regarding training of the vaccination teams, micro planning, community engagement and security situation was discussed during a district readiness meeting held at the Khyber House on Wednesday.
However, they said that any decision regarding postpone mentor cancellation of the forthcoming campaign in the restive Tirah valley would be taken once the situation in the region was assessed prior to the start of the campaign.
The sources said that as many as 9500 Tirah children could not be vaccinated against polio due the law and order situation in some of the localities.
Meanwhile, the first community awareness session held at Landi Kotal jirga hall was attended by political, religious and local tribal influencers, government officials and ordinary tribesmen.
Speaking on the occasion, the polio communication officer, Said Afzzal, stressed the importance of polio drops and routine essential immunization in every campaign as these were vital to protect children from the crippling disease.
He said that during the last campaign, 87 refusal cases were recorded in Khyber which were mostly linked to the community demands.
He emphasised that community ownership was key to the success of the vaccination programme.
Published in Dawn, August 14th, 2025