QUETTA: A seven-day anti-polio drive will start in half of Balochistan on Monday (today) to vaccinate some 1.26 million under-five children against the disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus.

The campaign would cover 593 union councils in 18 districts of the province, Syed Zahid Shah, coordinator of the Balochistan Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), said in a statement on Sunday.

Around 5,000 teams would be deployed to administer polio drops to children. All arrangements had been finalised to launch the campaign in high-risk areas as well, he added.

The 18 districts include Pishin, Qila Abdullah, Chaman, Barkhan, Mastung, Chagai, Dera Bugti, Dukki, Qila Saifullah, Loralai, Nushki, Hub, Jaffarabad, Nasirabad, Sherani, Sohbatpur, Musakhel and Zhob.

Mr Shah said Balochistan had been polio-free for two years now. The last case was reported on Jan 27 that year from Qila Abdullah district. Besides, since April 2021, no environmental sample from the province has been found to have poliovirus.

Around 1.3m children to be vaccinated during seven-day campaign in 18 districts

“The efforts and dedication of our front-line workers are admirable.

Yet, we have to strive more to stop the virus circulation and save our children,” he said.

However, he feared that the presence of poliovirus in other areas of the country and in Afghanistan was a huge challenge for Balochistan.

He called upon the parents to cooperate with polio workers during the campaign, insisting that the virus spread had been effectively controlled due to “unflinching support from all segments of the society”.

He said the administration had adopted strict security measures to prevent any unforeseen situation. Balochistan Levies force, police and Frontier Corps would be deployed to protect the polio workers, he said, adding that religious scholars were also taking part in the exercise to persuade parents who normally refuse vaccination to their children.

Mr Shah said routine immunisation (RI) was an important pillar of polio-eradication initiatives. “We are trying to provide adequate resources not only for vaccination against childhood vaccine-preventable diseases but also working to expand the RI service delivery in remote areas,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2023