IEP DEHRADUN SEPTEMBER 19, 2022
The State’s Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat virtually inaugurated the pulse polio campaign in Pauri district during the national pulse polio training programme on Sunday. As part of the campaign, 62,506 children in the 0-5 years age group will be administered polio drops in the district.
The authorities have set up a total of 800 polio booths across the district so as to ensure that no child in the target age group is left without being administered the polio drops. The Health minister has appealed to all people in the district to come forward and cooperate to ensure the success of this special campaign in Pauri. At his official residence, the Health minister virtually inaugurated the pulse polio campaign in the sub district hospital at Shrinagar in the Pauri district.
He said that the Pauri district had been selected as part of the national pulse polio training programme. He said that Health department medical teams and Asha workers will administer polio drops to children in the 800 polio booths set up across the district. Rawat said that this special pulse polio campaign will be undertaken for three days in the mountainous regions of Pauri district while in Dugadda and Kotdwar it will be undertaken for a week.
The children who are left without the dose will be administered polio drops by Asha workers who will make home visits. He further said that earlier, as part of NID on February 27, a total of 13.48,250 children had been administered polio drops while under SNID on June 19 a total of 10,00,074 children were administered polio drops across the State.
The minister pointed out that at present there is not a single case of polio in Uttarakhand where the last case was recorded during 2009 in the Udham Singh Nagar district. With the joint efforts of UNICEF, World Health Organisation, the Government of India and State governments the nation has become polio-free. However, the polio virus is still present in neighbouring Pakistan and Afghanistan which presents the risk of this virus spreading in India. This is why the Government of India has been conducting polio campaigns in the State, he said. The minister also issued necessary instructions to the departmental officials for ensuring the success of the special pulse polio campaign launched in Pauri district.
