Special polio campaign to commence in 13 districts

More than 1.3m children below the age of five will be administered polio drops

QUETTA: Balochistan Coordinator Emergency Operation Center Rashid Razzaq has said that a special polio campaign will be launched in the province after the recent rise in polio cases.

A four-day polio campaign will be started in Quetta, Pishin, Qilla Abdullah, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Jhal Magsi, Sibi, Sohbat Pur, Dera Bugti, Loralai, Dukki, Harnai and Ziarat.

At least seven polio cases have been reported from Balochistan so far including three from Qilla Abdullah, two from Jaffarabad and one each from Quetta and Harnai.

More than 1.3 million children below the age of five will be administered polio drops.

“Teams comprising 7,481 polio workers are to be deputed including 4,547 mobile teams, 456 fixed side and 444 transit teams,” Razzaq said.

Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only two countries with cases of polio virus still emerging. The disease continues to spread in various areas of the two countries.

At least 80 cases of polio were reported in Pakistan in the current year so far.

Officials are hopeful they will get the support from all stakeholders in the struggle to eradicate polio and make future generations healthy.

Earlier, on World Polio Day, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal also vowed to end the crippling virus from the province.

The Chief Minister said he was hopeful that the polio virus would be eradicated from Balochistan.

“The provincial government is using all the resources at its disposal to make this possible,” he added. “This crippling disease has been paralysing our children.”

The chief minister stressed the importance of public awareness campaigns about the importance of polio drops.

“Parents, clerics, teachers, all members of the civil society should come forward to thwart the negative propaganda against the polio vaccine,” Kamal urged.

Expressing his concern over the recent polio cases in Balochistan, Kamal said the virus could only be eliminated from the province with joint efforts.

“To save our future generations, there is a need for unity and parents should have their children administered polio drops during all campaigns”.

Kamal said the Balochistan government had allocated funds for anti-polio drives across the province.

According to a report, the number of cases in Balochistan in which parents refused to have their children vaccinated has exceeded 20,000.

Rashid Razzaq, the coordinator of the Emergency Operations Centre Balochistan, said about 25,000 unconvinced parents were a major obstacle to polio eradication in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 4^th, 2019.