An anti-polio campaign kicked off in nine districts of Balochistan to eradicate the crippling virus from the province.

Secretary of health Balochistan Saleh Muhammad Nasar stated an anti-polio campaign for seven days is being carried out in 37 union councils of the province. Syed Zahid Shah, the Coordinator of the Emergency Operation Center Balochistan, was also present.

While talking to the media, Nasar stated that the seven-day anti-polio campaign will be conducted in 37 union councils of nine districts of the province by nearly 575 teams. “Since January 2021 no polio case has been reported,” he said, adding “Our effort is to eradicate the virus once and for all”.

“Balochistan should be internationally declared ‘polio-free’ as no case has been reported for the last more than two years,” Nasar told a questioner.

He said that the presence of the polio virus in other provinces of the country and in Afghanistan is a challenge for Balochistan.

Parents must coordinate with the polio teams so that the efficiency of this campaign can increase, he added.

The secretary stated that special focus was given to the Quetta block comprising Pishin, Chaman and Killa Abdullah districts since these districts were vulnerable to the crippling virus for the last few years.

The campaign will be held in UC Panchpai, 2 UCs of Killa Saifullah, 4 UCs of Chaman, 5 UCs of Killa Abdullah, 9 UCs of Chaghi, 3 UCs of Loralai, 4 UCs of Noshki and 3 UCs of Zhob.

Authorities stated that foolproof security will be provided to the teams during the campaign which will include Balochistan Levies, Police, and Frontier Corps (FC) personnel. The security personnel will remain alert to avoid any unintentional incident.

It is noteworthy that Polio teams are continuously attacked by unidentified miscreants that aim to destabilize peace in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 14^th, 2023.