Stressing Collaborative Efforts to Raise Awareness About Transmissible Health Issues
The battle against communicable viral diseases, like polio, is heating up in Pakistan, and the Federal Directorate of Immunization (FDI) is taking a strategic approach to winning this fight.
In a recent turn of events, Dr. Shabana Saleem, the DG Health at FDI, has called for a closer collaboration between government agencies and civil society organizations (CSOs) to bring about awareness of various communicable viral diseases and increase immunization coverage, particularly in remote and underserved areas.
"Putting CSOs on board will help us tackle areas with remaining gaps in routine immunization," said Dr. Saleem during a recent event, marking the beginning of an exciting phase in Pakistan's Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI).
The meeting underscores the significant role CSOs can play in Pakistan's EPI, providing community trust, local knowledge, and grassroots presence - assets essential for strengthening the immunization programme. CSOs will be instrumental in identifying "zero-dose" children, rallying communities, and extending EPI services to the most vulnerable populations. These CSOs will serve as an invaluable extension of national and provincial EPI systems.
Federal, provincial, and local governments' embrace of CSO engagement showcases how strategic collaboration can lead to higher immunization coverage. As Carrie Madison Gheen, Senior Country Manager at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, states, "With the government's strong commitment to work closely with CSOs at the provincial level, the immunization programme will be further fortified to reach more children, especially those that have proven hardest to reach."
Leading the charge for this collaborative effort, Mannion Daniels and Oxford Policy Management will provide fund management services under Gavi's CSO Fund Manager Mechanism. A competitively rigorous shortlisting and due diligence process led to the selection of 17 CSOs hailing from all four provinces.
Now in the grant implementation phase, the FDI, Provincial EPIs, and CSO partners must work together to coordinate their efforts, establish clear key performance indicators (KPIs), and implement robust monitoring frameworks to ensure transparency, accountability, and measurable results.
Dr. Saleem closed her speech by expressing her heartfelt gratitude for the unwavering commitment and participation of various CSOs, partner organizations, and Gavi. "Together, we can make this partnership a shining example of how governments and civil society can work in harmony to ensure every child in Pakistan receives life-saving vaccines, irrespective of location or background," she said.
Despite the promising steps ahead, challenges such as access to remote areas, lack of infrastructure, and community resistance remain obstacles that require strategic and continuous collaboration, along with ongoing investments in infrastructure and education, to reach our goals for better immunization coverage. Stay tuned for updates on this exciting initiative! 🌟
[Source: Business Recorder, 2025]
Insight
The collaboration between government agencies and civil society organizations in Pakistan shows a growing commitment to enhancing immunization coverage. The support provided by civil society organizations is essential to strengthening the immunization programme, reaching remote and underserved areas, and boosting coverage in these communities. While some challenges remain, sustained efforts and targeted investments could lead to increased immunization coverage across Pakistan. 🎉💉
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