Polio vaccination drive kicks off in Balochistan

Published November 10, 2014
A polio worker gives vaccine to a young girl. — AFP/File
A polio worker gives vaccine to a young girl. — AFP/File

QUETTA: A polio vaccination campaign was launched amid tight security in 11 districts of Balochistan on Monday.

During the campaign, over 238,000 children below the age of five will be administered polio vaccine.

Chief Minister Balochistan, Dr Malik Baloch has taken serious notice of increasing polio cases in the country’s largest province and directed all elected members to stay in their constituencies during the campaign.

The districts where the campaign was launched include Quetta, Killa Saifullah, Killa Abdullah, Sherani, Zhob, Pishin, Loralai, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad and Lasbela.

"We will eradicate polio virus from Balochistan with the support of civil society," Dr Malik Baloch said in a statement issued on Monday.

He also directed all concerned departments to double their efforts to eliminate the crippling virus.

Strict security arrangements were adopted by the provincial government and police and Levies personnel were escorting the polio workers to guard them while they administer vaccine to children below the age of five years.

"We have provided security to all teams," an officer of the Balochistan Home and Tribal Affairs Department told Dawn on the condition anonymity.

The provincial health department has also set up mobile teams at airports, railway stations and all other exit and entry points of Quetta city to make the campaign a success.

Workers administering polio drops were also deployed at all national highways of the province.

Also read: Polio case reported after two-and-a-half years in Balochistan

At least 10 cases of polio were reported so far from Quetta, Killa Abdullah and Zhob districts of Balochistan this year.

Dr Ishaq Panezai, an officer of the health department termed refusal as the underlying reason behind increasing polio cases.

Also read: ‘Refusal major cause of Balochistan polio cases’

The Chief Minister Dr Malik Baloch has urged clerics, teachers, politicians and people belonging to different walks of life to make joint efforts to eradicate the virus.

Militant groups often attack polio teams as they see vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage. There are also long running rumours about polio drops causing infertility.

Balochistan had been polio free for almost more than two years. However, first polio case was reported from Balochistan's Killa Abdullah district in July this year.

Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria. Efforts to eradicate it have been seriously hampered by the deadly targeting of vaccination teams in recent years.

Opinion

Editorial

Taking cover
Updated 09 Jan, 2025

Taking cover

IT is unfortunate that, instead of taking ownership of important decisions, our officials usually seem keener to ...
A living hell
09 Jan, 2025

A living hell

WHAT Donald Trump does domestically when he enters the White House in just under two weeks is frankly the American...
A right denied
09 Jan, 2025

A right denied

DESPITE citizens possessing the constitutional and legal right to access it, federal ministries are failing to...
Closed doors
Updated 08 Jan, 2025

Closed doors

The nation’s fate has been decided through secret deals for too long, with the result that the citizenry has become increasingly alienated from the state.
Debt burden
08 Jan, 2025

Debt burden

THE federal government’s total debt stock soared by above 11pc year-over-year to Rs70.4tr at the end of November,...
GB power crisis
08 Jan, 2025

GB power crisis

MASS protests are not a novelty in Pakistan, and when the state refuses to listen through the available channels —...