Three-day anti-polio drive begins countrywide today
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Three-day nationwide anti-polio campaign begins throughout the country today.
In an interview with Radio Pakistan correspondent Saeed Ahmad, National Coordinator Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme Rana Muhammad Safdar said that during the campaign thirty-eight million children below the age of five years will be administered polio drops.
The National Coordinator said 19.15 million children will be vaccinated in Punjab, 8.7 million in Sindh, 5.68 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2.46 million in Balochistan, 1.03 million in FATA, 0.74 million in AJK, 0.237 million in Gilgit-Baltistan and 0.313 million children in Islamabad.
He said around 42.5 million doses of the vaccine will be utilized during the campaign.
He said the campaign in Karachi is strategically planned from 22nd to 28th of this month.
Rana Safdar said two hundred and sixty thousand health workers will visit door to door to administer polio drops across the country during the campaign.
The National Coordinator said that last year eight polio cases were reported. He said presently there are two hot polio reservoirs in the country located at Karachi and Qilla Abdullah near Quetta and we are fully focused on these sites.
Rana Safdar said that this is the first campaign of the year and similar nationwide campaigns will also be launched during the next four months to ensure complete eradication of the polio virus from the country.
