QUETTA: Balochistan will launch a targeted polio vaccination campaign next week, aiming to immunize more than two million children in high-risk districts of the province, said health authorities on Thursday.
Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan said that a province-wide anti-polio campaign will run from September 1, targeting more than two million children under five years of age.
The decision came after a high-level review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Balochistan Shakeel Qadir Khan. Officials said the campaign will cover 26 districts, with special focus on areas where environmental samples tested positive for the poliovirus.
It is pertinent to mention here that no polio case has been reported in the province for the past 10 months. However, recent environmental samples from Quetta’s Beleli area detected traces of the virus, prompting the fresh drive.
Chief Secretary Khan formally inaugurated the campaign by administering polio drops to children. He stressed the government’s resolve to eradicate the crippling disease from Balochistan and urged parents to ensure every child receives vaccination.
Health officials said teams have been mobilized across the province to meet the target and maintain zero polio case status.
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Pakistan has reported 23 polio cases so far this year. Of these, 15 were reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, six from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan. No cases have been reported from Islamabad Capital Territory or Azad Kashmir.
