Battling disease: Anxiety over fresh polio case in Quetta

Balochistan health secretary orders action against relevant staff

QUETTA: Balochistan Health Secretary Noorul Haq Baloch has taken notice of the fresh case of polio in Quetta.

He has directed departmental action against the District Health Officer (DHO) Quetta and the staff of  World Health Organisation and COMNet deployed in the provincial capital.  “The initial investigation suggests that it was a refusal case,” Secretary Health Noor-ul-Haq Baloch told the meeting held at Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Balochistan.

The meeting was jointly chaired by the Coordinator EOC Balochistan Dr. Syed Saif Ur Rehman. Provincial heads of WHO, UNICEF, COMNet, N-STOP and other partner agencies were present. The officials concerned in the union council Pashtunabad 11-B were also called in and asked to present the findings regarding the polio case.

Read: War against disease: Significant decrease in polio cases, says UNICEF

The Coordinator Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Balochistan Dr. Syed Saif Ur Rehman has said it is the responsibility of everyone involved in the campaign to ensure that every single refusal case in Balochistan is covered. “We cannot ignore a single case in Balochistan and will utilize all the resources.”

Noorul Haq Baloch said it should be clear that the Health Department will not tolerate polio cases which are seriously challenging the government. “The District Health Officer, Polio Eradication Officer, Lady Health Workers and officials coordinating with international agencies will be suspended if cases in Balochistan are found,” Baloch said. “The confirmation of polio case would be considered a complete failure of the administration and partner agencies working in Balochistan,” he told the meeting.

Read: Polio cases drop by 70% in 2015: govt

The Secretary was briefed about the case and he lamented that serious actions were not taken to persuade and administer polio drops to children.

“No one can justify the refusal cases and inaccessible areas. Balochistan Health Department will utilize all its resources to end polio virus and ensure that every child of the province is vaccinated against the crippling disease.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 10^th, 2015.