The tally of polio virus infections this year has soared to 23, according to Balochistan’s health department.
On Monday, Balochistan’s Minister for Finance, Mir Zahoor Buledi, stated that the growing number of polio cases in the province are a matter of serious concern for the government.
The Minister also addressed an event organised in order to honor polio workers:
“Frontline workers are the real heroes and the backbone of the polio eradication program in Pakistan. They go from home to home to administer polio drops that are given to all children under the age of 5. The frontline workers fulfill their duties in the harshest conditions in order to make Pakistan a polio-free country. World Polio Day is celebrated to raise awareness about polio and the eradication of this disease through immunisation”.
“Parents should ensure that their children are given polio drops during vaccination campaigns,” a health official urged citizens in a statement issued to the press.
According to a report by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB), “If no mass vaccination takes place, there will be many more polio cases than expected, pre-Covid-19, by the end of the year.”
Polio now exists only in two countries — Afghanistan and Pakistan — with the latter grappling with an increase in cases over the past few months.
