QUETTA:  Emergency Operations Centre Balochistan Coordinator Syed Faisal Ahmed has said Balochistan is getting ever closer to achieving its target of eradicating polio from the Province through exemplary coordination and collaboration of Federal and Provincial Governments at political and administrative level.

He said in a statement that to ascertain and validate the existing data about children under five years of age, Health Departments of respective provincial governments are undertaking an exercise to register houses and children under five years of age in various UCs, of Quetta block and other parts of the province. “Government officials from Health Department like Community Health Workers and monitors are assigned to ensure all houses and children will be reached when the vaccination campaign begins in August,” he said.

Health Department has requested the parents to cooperate with these visiting community health workers from local government facilities. This valuable contribution from the parents and community elders will help us determine the exact number of children under five years of age in each of these UCs and ensure that no child is left behind in the upcoming vaccination campaigns against polio. These polio workers are carrying their official identity cards and parents are also encouraged to ask for their identification once they knock at their door.