Anti-polio drive kicks off in Quetta

QUETTA: Three-day anti-polio campaign has kicked off here in Quetta on Monday.

Chief Secretary Balochistan Babar Yaqub Fateh Mohammad inaugurated the drive against the crippling disease by administering anti-polio drops to a child in Wahdat Colony area of provincial capital.

Deputy Commissioner Hashim Ghilzai, Additional Health Secretary Noorul Haq Baloch, representatives of UNICEF and WHO were also present.

CS Balochistan, on the occasion, said that provincial government was working on war-footings to ensure cent percent eradication of the polio menace from Balochistan which has been ranged among highest risk area for rise of polio cases in the world.

Unfortunately, Pakistan is among Nigeria and Afghanistan where polio disease has not been fully eradicated despite the strenuous efforts of the government and international donor agencies, he said.

CS urged the teachers, notables and religious scholars to sensitize the parents about the jeopardy of crippling disease. Educated segment of society playing its role should coordinate with the health teams and vaccinate their children below the age of five against the polio disease, he added. (APP)