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QUETTA: A four-day anti-polio vaccination drive will begin in all 33 districts of Balochistan from tomorrow (Monday).
Balochistan Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Coordinator Rashid Razzaq said all preparations have been completed for the anti-polio drive.
Around 10,585 teams will be deployed to cover over 2.5 million children of less than five years, Razzaq stated. He said at least 8,988 mobile teams, 941 fixed and 594 transit teams have been deployed in the whole province to ensure that all the children are administered polio drops.
The administration has adopted strict security to prevent any unforeseen situation; Balochistan Levies force, police and Frontier Corps (FC) will be deployed to protect the polio workers,” the provincial coordinator added.
Religious scholars have also been assisting in persuading parents who normally refuse to administer polio drops to their children.
Appreciating the frontline polio workers, the EOC coordinator said their efforts were admirable; however, he added that there was much to be done to end the virus once and for all. Pakistan has reported a total of 79 polio cases this year, out of which 23 were detected in Balochistan.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus mostly affecting children under the age of five. It invades the nervous system and causes paralysis or even death. Unfortunately, Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan and Nigeria, affected by poliovirus.