1.5 Mln Children To Be Administrated Polio Drops On Jan 24: Commissioner Quetta

QUETTA, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jan, 2022 ) :Commissioner Quetta Division Suhail-ur-Rehman Baloch on Friday said that anti-polio campaign in 15 districts of Balochistan would be started from January 24 and 1.5 million children to be vaccinated during the five-day campaign.

He expressed these views while addressing a press conference regarding polio measures here.

Commissioner Quetta said no case has been reported in Balochistan which was a big development while there was a risk of polio spread due to parents who did refuse from administering of polio drops to their children.

He said Quetta Pishin, Chaman and Killa Abdullah were reported to high risk districts saying that all parents were being urged to cooperate fully with the polio workers during the polio immunization campaign and to ensure administrating anti-polio drops of their children.

He said that about 6683 teams would be assigned to vaccinate children against polio during polio drive in respective districts including Quetta, Pishin, Killa Abdullah, Chaman, Jaffarabad, Naseerabad, Loralai, Khuzdar, Killa Saifullah, Duki, Mastung, Sherani, Zhob, chaghi, Lasbela tehsils of Hub and Gadani area.

Security forces including police, Levies force and Frontier Corps personnel will be deployed in the respective areas for ensuring foolproof security measures of polio teams during the polio drive in order to make a success the campaign, he said.

He said that it was positive sign that no polio case has been reported in the province since January 27, 2021, which is a great achievement.

The last case in Balochistan, it was reported in January 2021 in Killa Abdullah district and April 2021 no polio virus has been found in any of the environmental samples, he added.

He also stressed all parents to cooperate with the polio workers during the polio immunization campaign and make sure that their children are vaccinated against polio in order to eradicate polio diseases from the areas.

"The role of religious scholars along with other sections was very important in raising awareness among the people about this which is why today we were conducting a systematic campaign against polio to protect our children", he noted.

Balochistan Polio Emergency Operations Center Coordinator Hameedullah Nasir and Deputy Commissioner Quetta Irfan Nawaz Memon, Dr. Aftab Ahmed Kakar and others were also present in the press conference.