QUETTA: A five-day anti-polio campaign will be launched in 15 districts of Balochistan on January 24 (Monday), during which 1.5 million children under the age of five years will be vaccinated.

Speaking at a press conference here on Friday, Quetta’s Commissioner M. Sohail-Ur-Rehman Baloch said that all arrangements had been completed for launching the anti-polio campaign in the areas where refusal cases had been reported during the previous campaigns.

He said the districts that had been selected for launching the anti-polio campaign included Quetta, Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Jaffarabad, Nasirabad, Loralai, Khuzdar, Qila Saifullah, Daki, Mastung, Sherani, Zhob, Chagai, and Tehsils Hub and Gadani of Lasbela district.

“It is a great success that during last one year no new case of polio was reported from any part of the province as every district has been covered during anti-polio campaigns,” the commissioner said, adding that Quetta, Pishin, Chaman and Qila Abdullah were high-risk districts in the past, but “we have not ignored these areas”.

Mr Baloch said the refusal cases had fallen to 6,000 from 30,000 in the province by adopting an effective strategy and support of media and schools. He urged the parents to cooperate with the polio staff and get their children vaccinated.

Coordinator of Balochistan Polio Emergency Operation Centre Hameedullah Nasar, Deputy Commissioner of Quetta Irfan Memon and Dr Aftab Ahmed also attended the press conference.

Published in Dawn, January 22nd, 2022