Four sensitive districts: Balochistan plans anti-polio drive

EPI coordinator says a three-day anti-polio drive will commence from August 11

QUETTA: The Balochistan government will launch an anti-polio drive under special arrangements in four districts of the province in view of increasing number of polio cases there. Provincial Coordinator of Extended Programme of Immunisation (EPI) Dr Mohammad Ishaque Panezai told APP on Friday that a three-day anti-polio drive will commence from August 11 in Killa Abdullah, Pishin, Quetta and Zhob districts. He admitted that polio cases were being reported from these districts despite provincial government’s hectic efforts to check the spread of this crippling disease. Meanwhile, the union of health workers in Balochistan announced to boycott the latest anti-polio drive. In a statement, the union said it had decided to boycott the polio drive as the services of employees of Health Workers Programme were not being regularised.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th,2014.