02:06
Unknown
The Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell Thursday took up with the Balochistan government, the issue of non-compliance with the Direct Disbursement Mechanism (DDM) for polio teams operating in the Quetta block.
The decision was taken during an emergency meeting convened on the directives of the national coordinator of the Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring Cell Shahnaz Wazir Ali, and was followed-up with a letter being written to the Chief Secretary of Balochistan.
“There have been reports of non-compliant attitude towards DDM for paying stipends to vaccination teams and supervisors. Moreover, we have heard that the government of Balochistan may not be able to pay their contribution in the teams’ and supervisors’ stipends for the November Supplementary Immunisation Activities (SIAs). I would like to mention that if the proposed vaccination round is not conducted immediately, there is a serious threat to the efforts of government of Balochistan regarding polio eradication,” Shahnaz has alerted the chief secretary by saying.
Shahnaz has also expressed serious concern over the reporting of 5 cases of VDPV Type-2 from Quetta block within a span of 5 weeks and has termed it as being indicative of poor routine immunisation activities. “The latest campaign conducted in Quetta block was of sub-optimal quality,” she states in the letter. With reference to Thursday’s emergency meeting held at the WHO country office, Shahnaz informed the Balochistan chief secretary of the decision to conduct vaccination campaigns in Quetta block using TOPV with highest possible quality; one from November 15-17 and the second from November 29 to December 1. She also emphasised that the upcoming SIAs should be of the highest quality , and that routine immunisation should be enhanced in the province, particularly in the Quetta block.
The emergency meeting was attended by senior officials from the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), WHO, Unicef, and high officials from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Balochistan. The senior coordination for polio eradication at WHO Dr. Elias Durry also reiterated that DDM is the only mechanism for disbursement of payments to polio teams and the prevalent financial regulations of WHO do not allow for any deviation.
With reference to holding unplanned activities, the Balochistan health department contended that activities being contemplated over and above the planned activities will not be supported by them owing to paucity of funding at the provincial level.
The meeting also reviewed the current situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata with reference to an upsurge in polio cases and discussed different scenarios of SIAs in November and December in the light of currently available stocks of oral polio vaccine. Addressing the meeting, Dr. Altaf Bosan shared the current availability of vaccine at the federal level for unscheduled activities in high-risk areas of KP and Fata. He expressed concern over the global shortage of oral polio vaccine, especially in the backdrop of KP’s plan to conduct SIAs every month to check the current upsurge of polio cases.
With reference to the present situation in KP and Fata, Dr. Bosan said, given the prevailing increased transmission of poliovirus and shortage of vaccine, maximum benefit needs to be drawn from available resources. With the confirmation of vaccine shipment arriving in Pakistan in the first week of December, it was agreed that Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNIDs) in KP and Fata would be conducted in November and December.
The meeting was told that SNIDs would not be held in Kohat, Hangu, Dera Ismael Khan and Peshawar on account of Muharram. The DCOs have officially conveyed that no activities can be held from November 16 to 27, the participants were apprised. Meanwhile, Shahnaz also wrote letters to the chief secretary of KP and the additional chief secretary of Fata. In her letter to the former, she has pointed out that the currently available 4.1 million doses at the federal level for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can best be utilised by conducting two vaccination passages on December 18-20 and from December 29 to November 1. This would be followed by a province-wide vaccination round from December 10-12, depending on vaccine availability.
In her letter to the additional chief secretary of Fata, Shahnaz has mentioned that two vaccination passages; one from November 18-20 in all the accessible areas of Fata and the second from November 29 to 1 December, targeting high-risk areas in the province should be held. This would be followed by a vaccination round possibly in all accessible areas from December 10-12, if the vaccine is available. “Any sub-optimal performing areas need urgent attention, since just performing another vaccination round without quality focus will not be enough to interrupt the wild polio virus circulation,” she has stressed to the leadership of all the provinces.
The decision was taken during an emergency meeting convened on the directives of the national coordinator of the Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring Cell Shahnaz Wazir Ali, and was followed-up with a letter being written to the Chief Secretary of Balochistan.
“There have been reports of non-compliant attitude towards DDM for paying stipends to vaccination teams and supervisors. Moreover, we have heard that the government of Balochistan may not be able to pay their contribution in the teams’ and supervisors’ stipends for the November Supplementary Immunisation Activities (SIAs). I would like to mention that if the proposed vaccination round is not conducted immediately, there is a serious threat to the efforts of government of Balochistan regarding polio eradication,” Shahnaz has alerted the chief secretary by saying.
Shahnaz has also expressed serious concern over the reporting of 5 cases of VDPV Type-2 from Quetta block within a span of 5 weeks and has termed it as being indicative of poor routine immunisation activities. “The latest campaign conducted in Quetta block was of sub-optimal quality,” she states in the letter. With reference to Thursday’s emergency meeting held at the WHO country office, Shahnaz informed the Balochistan chief secretary of the decision to conduct vaccination campaigns in Quetta block using TOPV with highest possible quality; one from November 15-17 and the second from November 29 to December 1. She also emphasised that the upcoming SIAs should be of the highest quality , and that routine immunisation should be enhanced in the province, particularly in the Quetta block.
The emergency meeting was attended by senior officials from the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), WHO, Unicef, and high officials from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and Balochistan. The senior coordination for polio eradication at WHO Dr. Elias Durry also reiterated that DDM is the only mechanism for disbursement of payments to polio teams and the prevalent financial regulations of WHO do not allow for any deviation.
With reference to holding unplanned activities, the Balochistan health department contended that activities being contemplated over and above the planned activities will not be supported by them owing to paucity of funding at the provincial level.
The meeting also reviewed the current situation in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata with reference to an upsurge in polio cases and discussed different scenarios of SIAs in November and December in the light of currently available stocks of oral polio vaccine. Addressing the meeting, Dr. Altaf Bosan shared the current availability of vaccine at the federal level for unscheduled activities in high-risk areas of KP and Fata. He expressed concern over the global shortage of oral polio vaccine, especially in the backdrop of KP’s plan to conduct SIAs every month to check the current upsurge of polio cases.
With reference to the present situation in KP and Fata, Dr. Bosan said, given the prevailing increased transmission of poliovirus and shortage of vaccine, maximum benefit needs to be drawn from available resources. With the confirmation of vaccine shipment arriving in Pakistan in the first week of December, it was agreed that Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNIDs) in KP and Fata would be conducted in November and December.
The meeting was told that SNIDs would not be held in Kohat, Hangu, Dera Ismael Khan and Peshawar on account of Muharram. The DCOs have officially conveyed that no activities can be held from November 16 to 27, the participants were apprised. Meanwhile, Shahnaz also wrote letters to the chief secretary of KP and the additional chief secretary of Fata. In her letter to the former, she has pointed out that the currently available 4.1 million doses at the federal level for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa can best be utilised by conducting two vaccination passages on December 18-20 and from December 29 to November 1. This would be followed by a province-wide vaccination round from December 10-12, depending on vaccine availability.
In her letter to the additional chief secretary of Fata, Shahnaz has mentioned that two vaccination passages; one from November 18-20 in all the accessible areas of Fata and the second from November 29 to 1 December, targeting high-risk areas in the province should be held. This would be followed by a vaccination round possibly in all accessible areas from December 10-12, if the vaccine is available. “Any sub-optimal performing areas need urgent attention, since just performing another vaccination round without quality focus will not be enough to interrupt the wild polio virus circulation,” she has stressed to the leadership of all the provinces.
Posted in: Islamabad
0 comments:
Post a Comment