Daily Times

QUETTA: Balochistan Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Coordinator Dr Syed Saifur Rehman has said that a three-day anti-polio drive will be kicked off today (Monday) in 137 union councils of the province aimed administrating over half-a-million children of below five years of age. Providing details of the anti-polio drive, Dr Saif said as many as 1,678 mobile teams, 122 teams at fixed points and 38 teams at transit points would be engaged during the campaign. Strict surveillance system has been adopted in all transit points, he said, and added that anti-polio teams would also be deployed in all refugee camps. He said that religious scholars across the province had assured the provincial government of their help and assistance to convince the parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated during the campaign. “We have been fighting against the crippling disease and I am hopeful that Balochistan will be the first polio-free province of the country,” Dr Saif added. Talking about the security measures adopted for the anti-polio drive, Dr Saif said that police and Frontier Corps personnel would be deployed with polio teams across the province in order to thwart any possible untoward incident. It may be mentioned miscreants have been frequently targeting polio teams in the province as they consider the polio drops a western conspiracy against controlling the population of Muslim world. The provincial health department has also directed all deputy commissioners to fully cooperate with polio teams and keep active the government machinery when needed.