Anti-polio drive begins across Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: While concerns were recently expressed by the international monitoring and funding organizations, a nationwide drive started across Pakistan to vaccinate children under five years of age against the crippling disease.

Teams have been formed who will go door to door and remain at fixed points to administer drops to the children.

The drive will continue across the country for about a week but with different durations.

It may be mentioned here that at a recent meeting the international donors and monitors expressed their apprehensions about re-emergence of polio cases in different parts of the country.

They said Pakistan’s situation was worrisome in comparison to Afghanistan, the only other country where polio has still not been eliminated.

During the campaign started today,  drops will be administered to 6.4 million children in the districts of Lahore, Okara, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Multan and Mianwali in Punjab. The drive in Punjab will continue till June 9.

In Sindh, the drive will continue in 20 districts for seven days during which the target is to cover around 4.5 million children.

The campaign in Khyber Pakthunkhwa will continue for five days in all 23 districts if the province during which iver 3.5 million children will be administered anti-polio drops.

In Balochistan, the drive began in 14 districts and will continue for seven days with a target of covering 1.8 million children.

In Naseerabad, Sibi, Jaffarabad, Usta Muhammad, Dera Bugti and Sohbatpur districts, the drive will begin on June 8 due to the current heatwave.