Peshawar — Tribal elders in Jamrud tehsil of the Khyber tribal district started anti-polio campaigns and announcing on loudspeakers from local mosques on Sunday.
Local elders asked parents to refuse polio eradication teams when come at their doors for vaccinating their kids.
A local tribal Jirga took this extreme step after the electricity was shutdown for more than two weeks in Ghariza town of Jamrud. The Jirga decided to boycott polio drives until the power supply is restored.
“Those who do not boycott the polio drive, their houses will be demolished.”
Tribal Jirga
The Jirga members said that their villages also lack of clean drinking water due to the power shutdown. Local people are helpless to purchase water for drinking purpose.
A polio case was reported in the Bajaur tribal district when parents of a two and half years old child Mustafa used to refuse of vaccinating their child during polio drives.
A four-day countrywide polio immunization campaign commenced on Monday during which about thirty nine million children under the age of five are being administered anti polio drops.
Overall 260,000 polio workers are participating in the drive which will go door to door to administer anti polio drops to the children across the country including the erstwhile Fata.
About 5.8 million children are being vaccinated across the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the newly merged tribal districts.
Tribal elders in Jamrud, also made several efforts to complain against power suspension, but the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in Khyber tribal district took no serious step to address the problem.
