Quetta campaign: Vaccinators aim to reach over 200,000 children

Large contingent of FC personnel and police to escort health workers

QUETTA: A two-day anti-polio drive kicked off on Saturday in 15 zones of the provincial capital, with vaccinators accompanied by a large contingent of Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and police officials.

The latest round of the campaign will target high-risk areas of Quetta and an estimated 216,000 children will be vaccinated as part of the campaign, said District Health Officer (DHO) Quetta Sher Ahmed Satakzai.



Additionally, 439 teams have been constituted to administer the polio vaccine door-to-door. Earlier, a vaccination drive was launched in 17 union councils in Quetta.

Security in Saryab, Pashtunabad, Kharotabad, and the Eastern and Western Bypass areas of the city has been beefed up, with snap checking carried out across the city during the vaccination drive.

Only two months back, four health workers, including three women, were shot dead near the Eastern Bypass.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2015.