16,000 children in Balochistan not vaccinated against polio virus

SYED ALI SHAH

Around 16,000 children were not provided polio vaccine during the recent campaign in October in Balochistan, Chief of Emergency Operation Cell (EOC) Syed Faisal Ahmed told DawnNews.

According to Emergency Operation Cell's data, around 16,000 kids below the age of five year remained deprived of polio vaccine

About 11,000 children could not be provided polio vaccine because they were not at home during the campaign during the campaign conducted in October this year in Balochistan.

"Approximately 5,000 children were not able to get polio vaccine as their parents refused to get them vaccinated for polio virus. Among them 30-40 per cent people refused polio vaccine for their kids on religious basis," said Faisal Ahmed.

Faisal Ahmed further informed that more than 2.4 million children below the age of five years were provided polio vaccine in Balochistan during the campaign.

The Balochistan government had formed committees on district level to convince the parents for provision of polio drops to their children and address the issue of chronic refusals. The committees comprise of religious scholars and people belonging to various walks of life.

In Balochistan, this year only one polio case has been reported from Quetta. However, last year seven cases were reported in the province. Most of the cases are reported in Quetta block comprising Pishin and Killa Abdullah.