Anti-polio drive targeting 10 mn children begins in Pakistan

A fresh anti-polio campaign targeting over 10 million children started in Pakistan on Monday, the media reported.

More than 10 million children up to five years of age will be administered anti-polio drops during the campaign for the eradication of the crippling and potentially deadly infectious disease, according to the notifications issued by provincial health departments, Radio Pakistan reported.

The provincial health departments said that more than 45,000 polio teams in eastern Punjab province, 25,000 in northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and 9,000 in southwest Balochistan have been constituted to administer anti-polio drops, adding that the teams will also be available at railway stations, bus stands and main public places other than door-to-door visits.

Special security arrangements have been made to ensure the security of the teams.

Pakistan remains one of the three polio-endemic countries together with Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Muhammad Safdar, Pakistan's national coordinator on polio, said that so far only one polio case has been reported this year, whereas there were eight cases in 2017. He said the number of cases has steadily declined since 2014 when 306 polio cases were reported.

--IANS

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