A three-day anti-polio drive will begin in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan on Monday (today). Children up to five years of age will be immunised during the campaign.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a total of 3,644,000 children will be vaccinated by 12,059 teams in eight districts of the province.
In Balochistan, more than 1.6 million children under five years of age will be administered anti-polio vaccination. As many as 3,875 teams have been constituted in 15 districts, including high-risk areas, to administer anti-polio vaccination to children. About 402 fixed and 213 transit points have been established where 3,875 polio workers will perform their duties to vaccinate 1,636,934 children in 15 districts of Balochistan,
Talking about security arrangements for the teams of health workers, Balochistan Emergency Operation Centre’s in-charge Faisal Ahmed said that strict security measure had been taken to prevent any untoward incident. “The Frontier Corps and army will be deployed in sensitive areas of the province during anti-polio drive,” he added.
“In Qilla Saifullah, Qilla Abdullah, Naseerabad, Jaffarabad, Pishin, Loralai, Dera Bugti, Lasbela, Sherani, Quetta, Zhob, Jhal Magsi, Bharkhan, Khuzdar, Musa Khel and other parts of the province the drive will commence as per announced dates,” he said.
Talking about the IPV programme, Ahmed said it remained successful in four major Afghan refugee camps of Chagai district.
He urged the media and religious scholars to play their vital role and encourage parents to get their children immunised against polio.
