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PESHAWAR, Feb 18 (APP):Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has launched a province-wide vaccination campaign, “Big Catch-Up”, aimed at immunizing children under the age of 5 against 12 deadly diseases.
The campaign was inaugurated by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Advisor, Ihtisham Ali, at the Molvi Ameer Shah Memorial Hospital in Peshawar.
The 12-day campaign will target 78,000 zero-dose children and 1.2 million children who have received one or two doses of vaccines.
“The ‘Big Catch-Up’ campaign is a critical effort to protect our children from vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Ihtisham Ali.
“We urge all parents to get their children vaccinated and play their part in keeping our communities healthy and safe.”
Director EPI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Dr. Asghar Khan, emphasized that the campaign will focus on reaching children who missed their vaccinations due to COVID-19 or other reasons.
“Our teams will visit fixed centers, schools, and communities to ensure that all eligible children are vaccinated,” said Dr. Asghar Khan. “We appeal to all parents to cooperate with our teams and get their children vaccinated.”
The “Big Catch-Up” campaign is supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and other partners.
On this occasion Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre Basit Ali, Medical Superintendent Molvi Jee Hospital Dr Sher Khan Afridi, Pakistan Pediatrics Association President Dr Bawar Shah, CFO Unicef Radek, Unicef Health Team Lead KP Dr Inamullah Khan, Deputy Director EPI Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr Mehtab, WHO team lead Dr Babar Alam, Health Department and Unicef representatives attended the ceremony.