Fighting polio: Balochistan begins immunisation drive

11,900 teams to administer polio vaccine to 2.1m children below five years of age.

A three-day polio immunisation campaign to administer polio vaccine drops to 2.1 million children of less than five years of age began in Balochistan on Monday.

The Balochistan Health Department constituted 11,900 teams to administer the vaccine in 26 districts of the province, including Quetta.

According to department officials, the committees for the campaign were formed on the basis of Union Councils to ensure smooth functioning.

The campaign will also target to eradicate the virus throughout Pakistan, which was reported to have around 59 cases of polio in 2011. Of these, 18 were in Balochistan, 14 in Sindh, 20 in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), six in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and one in Gilgit-Baltistan.