The Hindu : New Delhi News : Sheila launches special polio drive

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New Delhi

Sheila launches special polio drive

Staff Reporter

Photo: S. Subramanium

Targeting polio: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit administering polio drops to a child at her residence in New Delhi on Saturday.

NEW DELHI: Launching another phase of the Special Intensified Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme from her residence here on Saturday, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit called upon parents to get their children up to five years administered anti-polio drops at booths across the Capital this Sunday.

Pointing out that more than 25 lakh children would be administered polio drops under the special immunisation programme, the Chief Minister said more than 7,500 booths were being set up across the city. “Children up to five years would be administered drops by health workers and other agencies including non-government organisations,” she added.

Ms. Dikshit said total elimination of polio from Delhi was expected very soon as only one case of P-I wild virus had been reported from the city against two cases of polio reported in 2007 and 866 cases reported at the national level last year.

“Delhi would continue to strive hard to completely eliminate polio in the coming months. Delhi was the first to initiate the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme and would like to lead in elimination of this disease that not only hampers the physical and mental growth of children but also makes them physically challenged for the rest of their lives,” she said, adding that Delhi initiated the Pulse Polio Immunisation Programme in 1994 and launched house-to-house search and immunisation in 1999. Delhi Health Minister Yoganand Shastri said over 30,000 workers and employees of the Health Department would be deployed at booths across the city to ensure maximum reach from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. “The booths would be set up at railway stations, inter-State bus terminals and public places including major temples, metro railway stations, Millennium Park and Delhi Zoo. This apart, a door-to-door weeklong survey would be conducted under the search and immunisation pulse polio campaign.

Around 17,000 workers in 8,600 teams would visit colonies including slums to search for left-over cases and administer polio drops to children,” he added.

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