QUETTA: The Levies Force and police officials in the Quetta block have been directed to assist polio eradication teams in persuading 4,443 ‘chronic’ refusal cases. These are cases about the children who have never been inoculated as their parents always refused to do so during polio drives.

The chairman of the Emergency Operation Centre in Balochistan, Dr Syed Saifur Rehman, said that out of the 25 poliovirus cases reported in 2014 from Balochistan, 44 per cent were refusal cases.

Know more: Balochistan government to provide adequate security for anti-polio drive

Quetta Division Commissioner Kambar Dashti and Dr Rehman jointly chaired a meeting at the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) to review the ‘chronic’ refusal cases in the Quetta block comprising Quetta, Pishin and Qila Abdullah. Top officials from World Health Organisation, Unicef, the chief of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Masood Jogezai, National Stop Transmission of Polio officer Aftab Kakar, Additional Deputy Commissioner Yaqoob Marri, ADC Pishin and Qila Abdullah were also present at the meeting.Officials from the district administration said they would constitute committees to reach out to ‘chronic’ refusal cases.— Correspondent

Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2015

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