AJK launches four-day polio eradication drive for children

A nationwide polio eradication campaign is set to begin in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on September 1st, targeting approximately 742,500 children under the age of five, the local correspondent of APP reported this from Mirpur on Saturday.

The AJK State Health Department sources told APP that the four-day drive, which will conclude on September 4th, aims to immunize children across all 10 districts of AJK through a comprehensive network of mobile teams and fixed centers.

To ensure the success of the campaign, the AJK State Health Department has made elaborate arrangements. Over 4,000 mobile teams, comprising more than 5,000 workers, will visit door-to-door to administer polio vaccine drops. Additionally, 448 fixed centers will be established at local government hospitals and subordinate health facilities, providing easy access to vaccination services. In Muzaffarabad, the metropolis of AJK, over 135,000 children under five years old will be targeted for vaccination.

In Mirpur district, District Health Officer Dr. Fida Hussain reported that 76,656 children under five years old will receive polio vaccinations. To achieve this, 431 mobile teams of paramedics will be deployed across 51 zones, visiting homes and serving at 41 fixed centers and 14 transit points.

A central polio control room has been set up in Muzaffarabad to monitor the campaign’s progress and receive complaints. Furthermore, 844 area in-charges will supervise the drive at the union council level across AJK’s 35 tehsils and 245 Union Councils.


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