ISLAMABAD: A three-day anti-polio vaccination campaign will begin in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) today amid tight security, an official at the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) said. EOC Media Officer Aqeel Khan said that the anti-polio drive will be under the direct supervision of agency surgeon, and security will be provided by political agents, commissioners and armed forces. He said that the campaign would continue from November 20-22, followed by a catch-up of missed children. A total of 1,040,396 children below the age of five years would be administered the anti-polio vaccination by 4,384 teams; comprising 3,990 mobile teams, 293 fixed teams and 101 transit teams. During the campaign, vitamin-A capsules would be administered to address the deficiency of vitamin-A among children throughout the tribal region. Polio vaccination teams would be administering vitamin-A to a total of 936,356 children from the age of six months to five years across FATA. FATA EOC Coordinator Muhammad Zubair Khan directed his teams to “ensure vaccination of all children less than five years of age with focus on persistently missed and children on the move during anti-polio campaign.” “Effective collaboration for the improvement in quality of campaigns, robust oversight of the drive, monitoring and accountability are vital to keep zero polio case status of FATA,” he added. He said that they would concentrate on high-risk polio areas and ensure reaching children in every nook and corner of the tribal belt. Appreciating efforts of polio fieldworkers, he said, “Dedication and commitment of polio teams have brought us thus far and I am sure tenacity will lead us to polio eradication in FATA.” FATA is the only region which has achieved the 2016 to 2017 National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) target of 95% in at least in three anti-polio campaigns (coverage from February, April and May 2017 was 96%, 95% and 97%, respectively). FATA completed one year without any polio case on July 27 this year. Last polio case in FATA was reported on July 27, 2016. So far in 2017, not a single polio case has been reported from the tribal region whereas last year (2016), only two polio cases were reported from FATA. Published in Daily Times, November 20th 2017.