World Polio Day: Anti-Polio drive in Balochistan kicks off Today

World Polio Day: Anti-Polio drive in Balochistan kicks off Today

Quetta, 24 October, 2016: Syed Faisal Ahmed , the coordinator of Emergency Centre, Balochistan (ECB) said, three-day polio drive starting on Monday across the province have been completed.

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The three-day drive starting on Monday is scheduled to start in Qila Saifullah, Naseerabad, Qila Abdullah, Jaffarabad, Loralai, Pishin, Quetta, Dera Bugti, Sherani, Zhob, and other high-risk areas.

To observe the World Polio Day (October 24), the government of the province and ECB organized a vaccination campaign for children under the age of five so as to vaccinate more than 1.6 million of them.

According to Dawn, Mr. Ahmed said, "Nearly 6,040 teams will be deployed to administer polio drops to children under the age of five."

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He further added, "5,378 mobile teams, 415 fixed sites and 247 transit points had been established across Balochistan to ensure that all children were inoculated."

"We have adopted strict security measures to prevent uncertain situations — Frontier Corps (FC), police and the Levis Force will be deployed to protect polio workers," said Mr Ahmed,

"This year only 15 new polio cases have been reported in Pakistan — out of which only one was from Balochistan."

"On this World Polio Day, we have to vow to intensify the fight against polio. All parents, civil society, politicians and religious scholars should come forward against this crippling disease," said Mr Ahmed.

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Sewage samples have been taken from Qila Abdullah, Quetta, and Pishin. The result of the tests were positive for the polio virus, which indicates that although "we have achieved major goals in combating polio; we still have a lot to do to get Pakistan declared a polio-free country".

-by NewsGram team

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