RAWALPINDI: The first immunisation campaign of 2024 will commence on Monday (today) all over Punjab, including Rawalpindi.

In Rawalpindi, Lahore and Faisalabad, the campaign will continue for seven days while in other districts it will last five days, said head of the polio programme and Punjab Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) coordinator Khizer Afzaal.

`Over 200,000 polio workers and supervisors will participate in the drive to immunise 22.5 million children under the age of five. This include 16,605 area in-charges, 3,991 union council medical officers, over 84,884 mobile polio team members, 4,884 fixed team members and over 2,664 transit team members,` he said.

He said the first national campaign of the year will lay a strong foundation for a polio-free year and eventually eradication of the virus.

`It is imperative that we start the year with a strong campaign and continue momentum against the virus. Amid polio virus circulation in other provinces, Punjab has not reported any case since October 2020 which is an achievement of the programme. The positivity rate of polio environmental samples has also gone down by 1 per cent. After successful implementation of quality polio campaigns, samples from all environmental sites have been reported negative. However, movement of population from core reservoirs to Punjab was one of the major causes of virus importation,` said Mr Afzaal.

He praised polio workers and said they had been on the forefront and continued to reach children in some of the hardest-to-access areas to ensure a polio-free world for the future generations. He also cautioned them against complacency saying the country could not afford to let poliovirus return to the province.

He said the government of Punjab through the health department was ensuring the safety and security of the frontline heroes.

`The government and health department have pledged to make all efforts to provide essential support to workers and facilitate them during unforeseen challenges.

He said multiple doses of polio drops offered the best protection against poliovirus, highlighting the need to vaccinate every child to achieve population`s immunity and prevent virus circulation.

`Parents must welcome polio teams whenever they come to their doorsteps. Local communities must be reassured that immunisation is a safe and effective means of safeguarding their children against this virus. 2024 is the year that Pakistan aims to interrupt transmission of poliovirus from the country and the polio programme is working steadily towards that goal,` he said.