Media Should Help in the Fight Against Negative Propaganda

This article details some of the actions taken by Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) provincial Health Department, in collaboration with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO), to eradicate polio during the January 16-18 2006 polio campaign throughout the province.

As part of the campaign, NWFP Health Secretary, Abdus Samad, asked journalists to spur people to vaccinate their children by raising awareness about the importance of the polio vaccine.
The government and health officials also held meetings with district coordination officers, political agents and prayer leaders to help to dispel negative myths about the polio vaccine and convince people, especially conservative families, to vaccinate their children.

In an attempt to stop the spread of the disease from Afghanistan refugees entering into Pakistan, the Saudi Arabian government announced that it would vaccinate all children crossing the Pakistan - Afghanistan border. People were also asked to notify health department officials of any areas not covered by polio vaccination teams.