QUETTA: Rotary International Club National Polio Plus Committee Chair Dr. Aziz Memon on Friday said routine immunisation was the lowest in Balochistan, making a majority of the children vulnerable to preventable life-threatening diseases.

Memom said the province had the lowest immunisation rate at 16 per cent.

“Many years ago, Rotary installed containers equipped with all facilities near the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate but the container was removed from the location,” he said.

“I think the government needs to sort out the issue and talk to Army officials in order to ensure that every child is vaccinated because without ensuring hundred per cent coverage at transit points, it is hard to get good results.”

He also urged that security efforts for polio vaccination campaigns be made foolproof.

Memon said ‘missed children’ were a bigger challenge than ‘refusals,’ insisting that the need of the hour was to improve performance in this regard.

“Rotary International will provide resources but needs assurance that these resources are being used for the purpose they are allocated for,” he said in plain words.

He said his organisation is committed to providing all possible resources to improve the state of healthcare in the province, particularly in eradicating polio.

He expressed these views while addressing a meeting at the Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Balochistan, Quetta. The meeting was jointly chaired by Aziz Memon and EOC Coordinator Dr. Syed Saifur Rehman and was attended by officials from UNICEF, WHO, BMGF, N-STOP and others.

EOC Coordinator Dr. Syed Saifur Rehman informed the meeting about the 46 functional transit points in Balochistan. The meeting was not satisfied by the facilities at the Pak-Afghan Friendship Gate in Chaman and other transit points.