Five-day polio drive launched in Balochistan

QUETTA:

A Five-day anti-polio drive was launched in Balochistan by Parliamentary Health Secretary Dr Rubaba Khan Buledi who inaugurated the campaign on Monday.

The inauguration took place in Emergency Operations Center Quetta. Coordinator EOC Rashid Razzaq was also present on the occasion.

Buledi was briefed by officials at the Operations Center about the five-day campaign in 25 districts of Balochistan during which approximately 2.1 million children would be vaccinated against polio.

Around 8,242 teams would take part in the campaign. "Pakistan and Afghanistan are the two countries in the world where the polio virus is present." officials said. "This year, 16 polio cases have been reported from Balochistan. Presence of this virus in Balochistan is a matter of great concern. There is still a risk of children being infected with the polio virus in Quetta, Pishin and especially in Killa Abdullah district," Buledi maintained.

The new polio campaigns are set to take place in Pishin, Killa Abdullah, Jaffarabad, Jhal Magsi, Kalat, Khuzdar, Kohlu, Killa Saifullah, Lasbela, Loralai, Mastung, Musakhail, Naseerabad, Sherani, Sibi, Sohbatpur, Sorab, Zhob and Ziarat.

The parliament health secretary concluded that people of all schools of thought must work together for complete eradication of polio from Balochistan. “New polio cases in Balochistan are a matter of concern and can only be tackled through a prevention strategy which is deemed more effective.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2020.