PESHAWAR: Kashmala, a 35-year-old woman from suburban area of Peshawar, fans her child at a hospital as the baby screams while they are waiting for their turn to be checked by a doctor.
There are several children, with their faces covered by red spots, waiting for their turn of medical check-up in this hot weather.
Kashmala says her child had missed the routine vaccination in the early years of life.
“The baby was a bit better but recently the condition has so much deteriorated that she cannot even open her eyes,” she said. Abdur Rehman, a 33-year-old father of three children, has gone through a similar experience. He said that he cannot forget the agony he suffered while treating his daughter for measles in the past.
“After suffering due to one daughter, I decided never to miss my children’s vaccination. Recently, I vaccinated a younger daughter on time because I still bear the scars… I frequently checked the vaccination card to ensure she is vaccinated in time,” he adds.
A child, since birth, is vaccinated against several diseases over the next several months of his/her life. However, those related to the medical field say that 100 per cent efficacy of a vaccine is not possible.
Aneela, a Lady Health Worker at the civil dispensary in Dabgari locality, told this scribe that they have even witnessed cases in which a vaccinated child has also become victim of measles.
“Lack of breastfeeding is often cited as a reason for measles among children,” she adds. Dr Taimur Shah, assistant director of the Expanded Programme on Immunisation, told this scribe that the children are vaccinated against various childhood diseases like TB, tetanus, whooping cough and others in the early ears of their lives but still they can catch a disease as there is no guarantee they would not become ill.
However, he added that even if a vaccinated child becomes victim of a disease, there are more chances that his life can be saved, compared to an unvaccinated child.
He said the incumbent provincial government has approved Rs6 billion for vaccination of children for the next five years. Similarly, he added that Rs18 billion have been approved by international donors, i.e. the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI). “The Rs 6 billion fund is the first of its kind approved by the current provincial government as the previous provincial governments have not given us such a big amount and it would be spent on operational purposes of vaccination, while the GAVI fund would be used for purchasing vaccines,” he added.
According to data released by the District Health Information System (DHIS), for the first quarter of the year 2016, a total of 1,185 infants have died of various ailments across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Of the total infant mortality reported during the first quarter of 2016, 129 kids have died in Swabi, 155 in Mansehra, 51 in Kohat, 143 in Abbottabad, 22 in Karak, 92 in Haripur, 47 in DI Khan, 31 in Chitral, 152 in Mardan, 39 in Malakand, 16 in Buner, 75 in Peshawar, 16 in Lower Dir, 49 in Nowshera, 107 in Swat, 10 in Tank, eight in Upper Dir, four in Battagram, five in Shangla, five in Lakki Marwat, 17 in Charsadda, 11 in Bannu and one in Hangu.