QUETTA    -  Four-day anti-polio campaign kicked off in all 33 districts of Balochistan on Monday.

Talking to the media, Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) Balochistan Rashid Razzaq said that all arrangements for the drive were complete.

“More than 2.5 million children of less than five years of age would be administered drops during the anti-polio drive,” the EOC informed.

“As many as 10585 teams have been formed to vaccinate children against the crippling disease,” Rashid Razzaq said, adding that at least 8,988 mobile teams, 941 fixed and 594 transit, had been tasked in the whole province with making sure that not a single child was left out.

“In order to ensure strict security for the polio workers, personnel of Balochistan Levies, Police and Frontier Corps (FC) have also been deployed by the provincial government,” he informed, adding that religious scholars were also persuading the parents who normally refuse to get their children vaccinated against the disease.

It may be mentioned here that Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world with polio cases. 

In recent year, 23 polio cases in Balochistan and overall, 79 polio cases were reported in Pakistan. “The efforts of the frontline workers are admirable, still we have to take further steps to stop the virus circulation and save our children,” concluded Rashid Razzaq.