Balochistan Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Coordinator Rashid Razzaq announced on Sunday that a four-day polio campaign will start in all 33 districts of the province from Monday (today).
According to the coordinator, all preparations have been completed for the anti-polio drive. Around 10,585 teams will be deployed to cover over 2.5 million children of less than five years, Razzaq stated.
At least 8,988 mobile teams, 941 fixed and 594 transit teams have been deployed across the province to ensure that all the children are administered polio drops. "We have adopted strict security to prevent any unforeseen situation; Balochistan levies force, police and Frontier Corps (FC) will be deployed to protect the polio workers,” the provincial coordinator added.
Religious scholars have also been assisting in persuading parents who normally refuse to administer polio drops to their children.
Appreciating the frontline polio workers, the EOC coordinator said their efforts were admirable; however, he added that there was much to be done to end the virus once and for all.
Pakistan has reported a total of 79 polio cases in 2020, out of which 23 were detected in Balochistan.
Speaking on the World Polio Day, observed on October 24, Rotary Club President Mohammad Ahsan Achakzai said Pakistan saw a surge in polio cases due to disruptions in routine immunisation activities, slow down in polio campaign supplementary immunisation activities and increased mistrust in communities on health services following the outbreak of the novel coronavirus.
He maintained that polio is a menace that the world needs to get rid of. "We should work together to provide our children and future generations a healthier life that is free of health risks like polio," he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2020.
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