KARACHI: In collaboration with international partners, the Sindh government launched a major vaccination campaign on 19th November for the children who missed their immunisation doses during Covid-19.
The ‘Big Catch-up’ initiative will cover two million children – defaulters as well as zero-dose children – across the province. The target includes 800,000 kids in Karachi.
“The campaign is a critical effort in addressing the gaps in immunisation coverage, particularly for children who missed their vaccines during the pandemic,” said Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho at the campaign’s launch held at the Police Hospital, Saddar.
The minister urged the parents not to miss the opportunity that would help protect children from 12 vaccine-preventable diseases. “The initiative will help improve immunisation rates and strengthen our healthcare system at the grassroots level,” she added.
In his remarks, Sindh Health Secretary Rehan Baloch highlighted that the government had engaged maximum workers – 4,000 vaccinators, 8,000 social mobilisers, a large force of women health workers as well as polio teams – for the campaign.
Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Sindh Director Dr Muhammad Naeem explained that the age limit for the eligible children had been extended from two to five years for the drive.
“We are also utilising an electronic registry to track immunisation data and target children who missed their vaccines during the pandemic. This data-driven approach will help cover all targeted children.”
Speaking of the government’s resolve to protect children across the province, Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator Irshad Sodhar said: “We have contributed extensively to micro-planning and desk validations, ensuring that all necessary steps are in place. We are confident that the defined targets will be achieved with the collective effort of all involved.”
The campaign is set to run across all the districts of Sindh. In addition to vaccinating children, the initiative will focus on community mobilisation and outreach, ensuring that families are well-informed about the importance of immunisation and encouraged to bring their children for vaccination.
Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2024