Lack of accountability key issue in anti-polio campaign
Thursday, February 11, 2010. Pakistan needs to enforce greater accountability in order to obtain better results from current efforts directed towards polio eradication, the director of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Dr. Bruce Aylward, communicated at a meeting of the Inter-Provincial Coordination Committee on Polio here on Wednesday.
The meeting, which was called to take stock of the polio situation in Pakistan and to endorse strategies for 2010 to hit the virus hard in low-performing areas, was presided over by Minister for Health Makhdoom Shahabuddin. The health ministers of Sindh, NWFP and AJK, and health secretaries of all the four provinces attended the meeting, along side global and national experts on polio.
Dr. Bruce Aylward hoped that the introduction of the new bivalent polio vaccine this year would play a major role in polio eradication. He urged all parties in security-compromised areas in Afghanistan and Pakistan should be engaged in the fight. “”The Taliban now support polio immunisation in parts of Afghanistan, he remarked before moving on to share how the adoption of new approaches in poorly performing countries like Nigeria have started showing results. “The impact of involvement of sub-national and local leaders during the past year is beginning to show,” he said. Dr. Aylward said the major milestones for polio are interruption of all new importations of the virus by mid-2010 and interruption of all re-established viruses by the end of 2010.
Dr. Aylward urged Pakistan to enhance accountability. At this, Shahabuddin suggested that the EDOs Health, who are responsible for implementation at the district level, should be held accountable. “We need to urge and motivate the EDOs to deliver on polio eradication,” he remarked. The key remaining challenges in polio eradication include lack of access to some parts of the country and coming to grips with management and service delivery issues in areas that are accessible.
Secretary Health Khushnood Lashari recommended that a mechanism be established to track implementation of plans under the leadership of the provincial chief secretaries and DCOs at the district level.
Briefing the meeting on Pakistan’s polio situation, the manager of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation Dr. Altaf Bosan said the government’s commitment to polio eradication must now be directed towards addressing issues like lack of accountability at the implementation level. He emphasised the need for formulating district-specific plans tailored to local needs, culture and ground realities, particularly for areas marked by unrest or accessibility issues.
Pakistan has a total of 15 highest-risk districts for polio. Special plans have been developed and finalised for improved coverage in these districts.
Source:- http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=223595
Filed under: News from Pakistan on February 11th, 2010
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