Balochistan [Pakistan], December 18 : The polio vaccination campaign, scheduled to begin this week in all 36 districts across Balochistan has been postponed for two weeks, the Dawn reported.
As per the Dawn, the Balochistan Emergency Oper!ations Centre (EOC) coordinator Inamul Haq said the polio vaccination drive would commence from December 30 across the province.
He said a high-level meeting held on December 16 reviewed preparations for the campaign. It was observed during the meeting, which was attended by officials from all districts, that further preparations were essential to ensure an effective campaign in the wake of the widespread presence of polio virus in Balochistan.
The Dawn noted that out of the 63 cases reported from across Pakistan so far this year, 26 cases have been detected in Balochistan, 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Islamabad.
However, in a significant development, according to Dawn, sources said that the polio campaign was postponed due to the strike of health workers on the appeal of a health alliance which had announced they would not take part in the vaccination campaign until the acceptance of their demands.
The demands of the workers include recruitment of doctors and other health officials on a permanent basis, end to public-private partnership in hospitals, and provision of medicines, equipment and other medical facilities.
Despite the widespread prevalence of the disease, as observed by the Dawn, the sources said the members of the health alliance had threatened Pakistani authorities even before the announcement of the polio drive that they would boycott all campaigns if their demands were not accepted.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that Polio is a crippling disease and has no cure, but there are safe and effective vaccines available to combat it. The strategy to eradicate polio is therefore based on preventing infection by immunizing every child until transmission stops.
The WHO also noted that Pakistan, along with Afghanistan, remain the last polio-endemic countries in the world.