A Larkana Divisional Task Force Meeting was held at Deputy Commissioner’s Office Sukkur yesterday ie; January27, 2017. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Azra Pechehu, Chairperson Oversight Committee and facilitated by Muhammad Abbas Baloch, Commissioner Sukkur who is holding additional charge of Commissioner Larkana. The meeting attended by Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali Coordinator Oversight Committee, Dr. Fayyaz Jatoi, EOC Coordinator, Deputy Commissioners and District Health Officers of Sukkur division, Dr. Shareefa Akter TL WHO, Dr. Altaf Bosan BMGF, representatives of N-STOP, UNCEF, PP Masood Ahmed Bhalli, PP Aftab Ahmed and Asher Ali Project Manager from Rotary International.

Muhammad Abbas Baloch, Commissioner Sukkur/Larkana welcomed the participants. Dr. Azra Pechehu said northern Sindh is more challenging. The division has five districts located at boundary of Punjab and Balochistan provinces. Therefore more vigilance is required.

The meeting started with the review of actions of the last meeting. Following were key action taken;

• DEPEC and UPEC were carried out on time
• HRMP micro plans are updated for cross border coverage.
• Log books are maintained

The chair showed her reservation regarding coverage of mobile population. As far as still missed children are concerned that must be cover during subsequent campaigns.

The chair appreciated the status of LQAs in all five districts of the division. The Chair pointed out gaps and instructed to improve in upcoming campaigns. She said Still Missed children are big threat.

She again requested to involve private practitioners in polio vaccination.

The overall coverage of Kamber and Kashmore districts need to improve. The DHOs were instructed to improve quality of their polio teams and their training. It was informed that availability of polio workers is a problem.

PP Masood Ahmed said the polio status in northern Sindh has improved significantly; however quick advancement is essential to withstand progress by strengthening routine immunization. He added to increase surveillance to sustain polio free districts.

Huma Arif UNICEF said IPV is much importantly and it should be utilized wisely to cover risky population.

The Commissioner thanked to all Deputy Commissioners and polio partners to attend the meeting. He said active participation of all participants showed that we are all committed and will kickoff this disease from our country.