PESHAWAR: Certificates for marriage, divorce, birth and death have been subjected to polio vaccination certificate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The official certificates will not be issued without proof of polio vaccination, said provincial health department. The polio vaccination certificate from the District Health Office (DHO) has now been made mandatory, the health department said.
Also read: Anti-polio campaign launched nationwide
Moreover, the village councils and the neighborhood councils have been barred from issuing certificates without a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the DHO office. The health department officials said that this step has been taken to bind parents who refuse to get polio vaccination.
The decision to make the polio certificate mandatory was taken in a recent meeting chaired by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary. Officials said that thousands of children across several districts of the province have been deprived of anti-polio vaccination. Parents still refuse to give anti-polio vaccination to their children which necessitated this measure, the health department said.
A letter has been sent to seven tehsils in Peshawar to implement the orders.
ANTI-POLIO CAMPAIGN IN PROGRESS in KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA
On December 16, the nationwide five-day anti-polio campaign was launched in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as well. In Balochistan, however, the campaign was delayed and is now scheduled to begin on December 30.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the anti-polio campaign is in progress, under strict security measures. Several districts in the province have also implemented Section 144 to safeguard the anti-polio vaccination teams. There have been some skirmishes between the polio teams and the local outlaws in some districts, but for the most part the campaign is undergoing as planned.
Also read: ‘Countrywide’ anti-polio campaign fails to reach Kurram district, halted in Balochistan
Bannu DC said that Motorcycle pillion riding, display of weapons and use of tinted windows in vehicles have been banned. An attack took place in Karak when an anti-polio vaccination was attacked. Governor Faisal Karim Kundi took notice of the issue and sought a report from the authorities.
One district of the province, Kurram, continues to be marred by violence and security issues. The Parachinar district has also been cut off from the neighboring districts and therefore the anti-polio campaign has not yet reached Kurram.