Anti-polio drive to kick off in Balochistan on Monday

Campaign will target 2.4 million children, with drops being administered in 30 provincial districts

QUETTA: A three-day anti-polio campaign in Balochistan is all set to commence from January 11.

While addressing a press conference in Quetta on Sunday, Coordinator Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Dr Saifur Rehman said the campaign will target 2,472,616 children, administering anti-polio vaccine in 30 districts of the province.

As many as 6,603 polio teams will administer anti-polio drops on 796 fixed sites and 321 transit points, said Dr Rehman, adding that 55,085 children of Afghan refugees below five years of age will also be vaccinated.



The coordinator said the number of children to be administered anti-polio drops is determined by polio census conducted by the provincial government on a regular basis.

"In 2015, 52 polio cases were reported in Pakistan, out of which seven were from Balochistan," he said.

About the future strategy, Dr Rehman said February onwards, Injectable Polio Vaccines (IPV) will be used instead of oral drops to control the crippling disease.

While the polio monitoring committee is chaired by chief minister Balochistan, coordination meetings were carried out with commander southern command and Frontier Corps to ensure security for polio workers in sensitive areas, he added.

The coordinator said nine successful campaigns were carried out in Balochistan from September to December 2015.

“We have managed to cover 90 per cent of the refusal cases in the province," he added.



About the wages of polio workers, Dr Rehman said "there were long delays in receipts but the problems have been resolved now."

The year 2015 was a relatively peaceful year for polio workers in Balochistan, with a sharp decline in the number of attacks on them.

“Protection of polio workers is our first priority and we make stringent security arrangements for their security,” he added.