Polio campaign starts in Balochistan

Published October 14, 2014
CHAMAN: District Health Officer Dr Mohammad Akthar administers polio drops to a child on the first day of a three-day vaccination campaign at the civil hospital here on Monday.—INP
CHAMAN: District Health Officer Dr Mohammad Akthar administers polio drops to a child on the first day of a three-day vaccination campaign at the civil hospital here on Monday.—INP

QUETTA: A three-day polio campaign was launched on Monday in Balochistan amid tight security to administer vaccines to children under five years’ of age.

Six new polio cases were reported during the last three months from Quetta and Qila Abdullah districts, officials of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said adding three each children from two the provinces had been crippled.

The polio campaign will administer vaccines to 8,67,898 children in Quetta, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Zhob, Sherani and Lasbela districts. However, only Hub tehsil had been chosen in Lasbela district.

“The Quetta zone - comprising Quetta Pishin and Qila Abdullah, falls in highly-risked area where six children so far are reported to have been crippled by polio,” official sources said.

The Extended Programme on Immunisation (EPI) had set up 1,831 teams with 232 teams to be deployed at fixed sites, 91 at transit routes, 130 in union councils and 732 as area in-charges.

It was further reported that several thousands of refusal cases had been reported in Quetta zone. Parents and guardians refusing polio drops to their children claim it to be a conspiracy of the West against Muslims to control their population growth.

Unicef and EPI officials said that parents who had previously refused administering polio drops to their wards were now more than cooperative, especially after the emergence of polio cases from Quetta and Qila Abdullah districts.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2014

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...