QUETTA: Health officials of Pakistan and Afghanistan met at the Friendship Gate near Chaman on Friday to discuss the anti-polio campaign in the border area.

The meeting acknowledged the need for joint efforts for polio eradication in the border area and discussed a mechanism to cover the children belonging to tribes living on both sides of the border.

On the proposal of a participant, it was agreed that health teams from both sides would gather at the zero line of the border and administer polio drops to all children in the area.

It was agreed that some disputed villages, which were earlier covered by Afghan polio teams, would now be covered by Pakistani teams.

The health officials of the two countries agreed to continue such meetings to strengthen coordination for polio eradication.

At the meeting, the Pakistani delegation included District Health Officer Dr Abdul Rashid Shafiq and Area Coordinator of the World Health Organisation Dr Shamsullah and the Afghan team by Dr Ubaidulah, DHO Dr Javid and polio coordinator Abdul Rahim.

According to sources in the health department, four polio cases have been detected in the Quetta block and southern Afghanistan during last six months.

The international organisations working on polio eradication consider the Quetta block and southern Afghanistan a global threat for polio.

Published in Dawn, July 22nd, 2017