Daily Times

The role of media for polio eradication was focused as Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa arranged a day long orientation workshop on health reporting for the Journalists from Dera Ismail Khan (DIK) Division at a local hotel in Kohat.

The workshop was attended by the district reporters of Tank, DIK and South Waziristan besides local chapter authorities of Health and Administration.

Technical focal person EOC Dr Imtiaz Ali Shah formally welcomed the participants of the workshop and said that the southern districts of KPK were the hardest hit of polio with frequent outbreaks of the disease that had paralyzed 17 children in 2019 and 2020 so far making the rest of the children vulnerable to the crippling virus. He urged the need for public education through responsible reporting about the significance of polio vaccination.

Speaking on the occasion as the special guest, Additional Deputy Commissioner Kohat Ahmad Bashir said that the media had a pivotal role in public opinion building and it was the need of hour to eliminate crippling disease from Pakistan through shared efforts.

National Professional Officer (WHO) Dr Sarfaraz Afridi, Senior Journalist Mahmood Jan Babar and Communication Officer UNICEF Shadab Younas also highlighted different aspects of the disease and enlightened the participants about the essentials of an objective story relating health and polio issues.