The Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti on Monday launched the week-long anti-polio vaccination drive in the province by administrating polio drops to children at the CM’s secretariat to protect the children from poliovirus.
The Speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, Abdul Khaliq Achakzai, Provincial Minister for Health, Bakht Muhammad Kakar, Minister for Education, Raheela Hameed Khan Durrani, Member of the Provincial Assembly, Mir Liaquat Ali Lehri, and spokesperson of the Balochistan government, Shahid Rand were also present on the occasion, emphasizing the critical importance of vaccination in protecting children from the debilitating effects of polio.
Chief Secretary of Balochistan, Shakeel Qadir Khan, Additional Secretary Home, Shahabuddin, Coordinator of the Emergency Operations Center Balochistan, Inam-ul-Haq and other officials were also in attendance.
During the last anti-polio campaign of the current year started on December 30, over 2.66 million children will receive polio vaccination drops in the province.
The seven-day-long anti-polio campaign is being launched in response to a recent surge in the polio cases reported in the province and the presence of poliovirus in environmental samples.
Around 11,600 teams will participate in the campaign, including 9326 mobile teams, 904 fixed sites and 593 transit points.
It is noteworthy that after three years, Balochistan has reported the highest number of polio cases, 27 out of 65 polio cases have been reported nationwide.
The Polio cases have been reported from Chaman, Dera Bugti, Qila Abdullah, Jhal Magsi, Zhob, Killa Saifullah, Nushki, Loralai, Pishin, Kharan, Jaffarabad, and Chagai districts.
After two and a half years, the reappearance of the polio virus in the environmental sample of different districts of the province was confirmed in 2023 and the virus still exists in the environment which is posing risks to children.
The chief minister urged the parents to ensure their children receive polio vaccination drops to protect them from the virus and disability.
He said that all resources are being utilized to ensure the complete eradication of polio and make the province polio-free as the security measures have also been tightened to vaccinate the maximum number of children under the age of five against paralyzed diseases.
The polio campaign is extremely important to prevent the spread of the virus and protect the children, he said adding that, along with the polio vaccine, children also complete the course of routine immunization against other dangerous diseases such as measles, pneumonia, and others.
Due to the presence of the virus in the environment, parents are advised to cooperate with the polio teams and vaccinate their children during this campaign to safeguard their health and prevent the spread of poliovirus.
The aim of the campaign is to address the virus’s presence in the environment of many districts in the province.
It may be recalled that Pakistan is among the last two countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan, where polio remains endemic, with the disease mostly affecting children under five, and sometimes causing lifelong paralysis.