Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) conducted an orientation workshop for leading paediatricians of the province to equip them with programmatic knowledge and communication skills for their improved role in shaping public opinion around essential immunization including polio vaccine. The workshop was attended by members of the provincial chapter of Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) and its cabinet.
Highlighting the critical role of paediatricians in supporting the government to protect children from this crippling disease and achieve the goal of polio-free Pakistan, speakers said that as health professionals especially doctors are a very significant and respected segment of society, and people from all walks of life listen to them very seriously and act upon their advice, they can play a pivotal role in shaping the public opinion in favour of polio eradication program and specifically in removing public misconceptions and resistance to polio vaccination.
They paid rich tributes to the health workers who braved all odds while visiting door-to-door to administer polio vaccines to the children. He said that surveillance is the foundation for eradication of diseases like polio and emphasized that upon public education, and improved sanitation services to protect the future of our children.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2023.
↧