Efforts are on to ensure all 11.27 lakh children aged below five years in the city are covered under the pulse polio immunisation drive that will be held on January 18 and February 22.
Officials of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and those from the health department under the Bengaluru (Urban) district are geared to achieve 100 per cent pulse polio coverage, said N. Shantha Kumari, city Mayor.
Appealing to parents to bring their children aged below five years on both days for the polio drops, she said that 2,970 booths would be set up across the city in all hospitals, markets, railway stations, bus stops, malls, medical colleges and other public places. While the programme will be implemented by the BBMP in 135 wards, the remaining 63 wards will be covered by the health department.
While there will be 447 stationary teams, there will also be 422 mobile teams that will go around the city administering the polio drops. The immunisation drive will see the involvement of 14,358 volunteers, she said.
She also said that an awareness rally will be taken out from M.G. Statue on M.G. Road on January 16.
BBMP Commissioner M. Lakshminarayan said that focus will be on covering children of migrant workers, especially the construction workers. “We have already held coordination meetings with the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India and Builders’ Association of India in this regard.”
He pointed out that for the past four years, no case of polio had been reported anywhere in the country. “However, we have to ensure 100 per cent coverage as polio cases are reported in large numbers in neighbouring countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan.” Rotary Club has been involved with the pulse polio programme for the past two decades.
