Three-day immunisation drive kicks off today

Religious scholars also taking part as counselors in province-wide campaign

QUETTA: A three-day polio vaccination drive targeting more than 2.5 million children under five years of age is being kicked off today (Monday) across the province.

According to Rashid Razzaq, the Coordinator of the Emergency Operation Centre for polio, all preparations have been finalised for the anti-polio drive.

As many as 10,356 polio teams — including 8,829 mobile teams — will be deployed in all 33 districts of the province. Of the rest, 951 teams will be deployed at fixed points and 576 at transit points.

Razzaq said in a statement that personnel of the Frontier Corps, Levies and police would provide security to the polio vaccination staff.

Religious scholars would also take part in the anti-polio drive as counsellors tasked with persuading parents not to deny polio vaccination to their children on religious grounds, he added.

Balochistan steps up battle against polio

“It’s admirable that with the efforts of our frontline workers, no case has been reported in the polio reservoir districts namely Quetta, Pishin and Killa Abdullah. Yet we have to strive more to stop the virus circulation and save our children,” he said.

Last year, at least three polio cases were reported from Balochistan. Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries in the world where poliovirus still exists.

Religious scholars have dismissed misconceptions regarding polio drops and urged people to administer their children with the vaccine.
During a seminar the other day, senior religious scholars dispelled misinformation regarding polio vaccine and emphasised that edicts should not be issued against vaccination campaigns without research.

The seminar was orgainsed to engage religious scholars in the war against poliovirus.

Maulana Anwarul Haq Haqqani, Dr Attaur Rehman, Qari Rasheed, Abdul Raheem Raheemi, an official of the Task Force against Poliovirus and several other religious scholars attended the seminar.

“The anti-polio vaccine is without any impure material that contradicts with Islamic teachings. The religious community has the responsibility to dispel negative myths regarding polio drops,” the scholars said.

Citing the example of India, they said the country had four times more population than Pakistan and had been facing the worst poverty but through appropriate planning and sincere efforts it had defeated polio.

“In 2018, 33 new polio cases surfaced in Pakistan and Afghanistan, among which 12 cases emerged from our country, while Balochistan had three new polio cases. Without contribution of religious leaders of our society, we can’t eradicate polio from our country,” they added.

They said, “Polio vaccine is being administrated to children on the Afghan border because more than 40,000 people travel across the border on a daily basis, while Quetta, Pishin and Killa Abdullah districts have been declared as highly sensitive following detection of poliovirus in their sewage lines.”