ISLAMABAD: A four-day anti-polio campaign will start in ten high-risk Districts of Punjab from Monday (August 6).
A spokesman of the Punjab Health Department in an interview with Radio Pakistan said the campaign will be carried out in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Rajanpur, Faisalabad, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalpur Districts.
Mobile Anti-polio teams to visit Schools, bus stands, and railway stations and also door-to-door to give anti-polio drops to the children, in remote/far-flung areas, rural and urban areas of five districts to accomplish the task.
The official of the Health Department has appealed the people to co-operate with mobile teams for administrating anti-Polio OPV to their children.
He added that the role of parents in the polio campaign is crucial and the role of civil society and religious clerics is also important. He also asked the media to play its role for the success of the polio campaign.
A relevant piece published earlier:
Experts at the daylong workshop on the topic of Mahboob Power Evaluation and Therapeutic Chart for Polio Management Saturday term rehabilitation and physiotherapy vital for polio patients.
The workshop organized at Mahboob Medical Institute (MMI) in Habib Physiotherapy Complex with experts, doctors, polio affected children, adults, families of the polio-affected people attended.
Polio affected children, their families and people from different part across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa turned up and attended the important workshop organized with an aim to review ways and means besides discussed various steps being taken to aware the general public to vaccinate their children in time.
Around 30 physiotherapists’ graduates were also there alongside a large number of polio-affected participants from all over the Province, FATA, Parachinar, Hangu, and Khyber Agency also turned up and attended the free health camp.
Dr. Aatik Arsh had a presentation on the causes of polio while Dr. Mahboob ur Rahman tell in his presentation on his research-based Polio Chart (Mahboob Power Evaluation and Therapeutic Chart) which gives rehabilitation plan for the polio-affected patients.
Talking to APP, soon after attending the workshop, Dr. Mahboob ur Rahman said that the basic aim and objective of the workshop is to give awareness to the people about polio immunizations and its rehabilitation and other preventive measures to ensure Pakistan Polio Free Country.
He said polio preventive means in time polio immunization to the children besides providing awareness to the families, who kids are being affected by polio, to take appropriate measures and in time rehabilitation.
He said the concept of rehabilitation and the importance of physiotherapy for the polio-affected children are not common phenomena in Pakistan. The people in Pakistan, he said, have been ignoring the role of rehabilitation and physiotherapy.
“We are looking our youth with deformed limbs who are compelled to begging in the streets for their survival which is quite alarming,” Dr. Mehboob said.
The government and some International Organizations are focusing on artificial appliances and assistance devices, he said, adding “No plan has been chalked out for the physiotherapy and rehabilitation to make these polio affected people independent.” He said no heat was paid to give education and vocational training to these polio affected people so that they could be able to earn their livelihood in a dignified way.
“We have to work more hard for the empowerment of these polio affected people he said and urged upon the government to come up and play their role alongside different NGOs and other private organizations,”.
He said the government should evolve a comprehensive rehabilitation approach to rehabilitate all such disabled.
Talking about polio, he said that physiotherapists and parents are equally responsible for the rehabilitation and they can do a lot of exercises through MPET Chart of our organization can prevent shortening, deformity, and wasting of muscles which are the three main complications in polio and as such these children can live with normal or nearly normal life.
He said the need of the hour is to take quick action to provide financial assistance, educational scholarships, and vocational training to disabled. He said Mehboob School of Physiotherapy also seeks the help of donors and present report to the government.
Later the polio-affected patients were examined and a follow-up treatment plan was given.
They were also offered free artificial appliances support as per their needs.
Director Dr. Altaf ur Rahman, Dr. Muhammad Daud, Dr. Yasir Jalal, Dr. Aatik Arsh, Dr. Faiza Irshad, Dr. Somia Illyas, Dr. Rizwana Rahman, Joseph Shaheen, Rafi Ullah, Kashif George, Muhammad Naveed, Bushra Jillani and Naheed also address the workshop.
In the end, certificates were distributed amongst the physiotherapists by the Chairman Dr. Mehboob-ur-Rehman for attending this workshop. (Published on 29th July 2018)
app
