President calls for concerted efforts to check spread of polio in UP

By Staff
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Google Oneindia News

New Delhi, Jan 6 (UNI) Expressing concern over the rise in polio cases last year, President A P J Abdul Kalam today called for launching the pulse polio programme in a big way in the worst affected state of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Launching the National Polio Immunization Programme here, Dr Kalam hoped that the country would achieve the target of polio elimination in 2007.

He said that instead of holding the launch programme in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the people involved in the Polio Eradication Mission should go to the people who needed the immunization most. He urged the Health Ministry to take up the Pulse Polio Immunization Programme in a big way in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. He also called for launching a separate immunization programme for people in North-East.

''I had recently gone to Sikkim to launch a camp for FRO calipers distribution for the people of eight North Eastern region. I wish the polio to be eradicated so that we do not have to have give FROs to anyone,'' Dr Kalam said.

Speaking on the occasion, Health Secretary Naresh Dayal said that the pulse polio programme, which was launched in 1995, was highly successful with number of cases reduced to 66 in 2005. However, the programme had a setback in 2006 with the number of cases going upto 640 to 650, he admitted but clarified that it was much less than the the last peak of 1600 cases in 2002.

He said the silver lining in the setback of last year was that the genetic families of polio virus had reduced to three from eight in 2004. Also the outbreak of 2006 resulted in children of the endemic region developing immunity to the virus.

Expressing optimism that the country would be very near the polio eradication target during 2007, he said concerted efforts were being made. These include three National Pulse Polio Immunization rounds on January 7, February 11 and another in March, 2007.

He said Uttar Pradesh, which is worst affected with polio, had also geared up its machinery. He said that during the recent rounds in the state, the number of missed children was very few.

Mr Dayal said the government was trying to reach all children for polio eradication to make a significant dent in the war against the disease.

UNI

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