Five-day anti-polio drive launched in KP

PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan on Monday formally launched a five-day anti-polio drive in the province by administering polio drops to a child.

During the drive, over 6.4 million children below the age of five years would be vaccinated against poliovirus. A total of 28,681 teams have been deployed for the purpose which include 25,579 mobile teams, 1,868 fixed teams, 1,104 transit teams and 130 roaming teams.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister termed complete eradication of poliovirus from the province one of the top priorities of his government and said the provincial government, in collaboration with other partner organizations, was taking concrete steps under a well devised strategy.

He expressed the hope that owing to the efforts of the provincial government, the province would soon be free of polio virus.

The chief minister said special arrangements have been made and teams were trained to avoid the spread of coronavirus during the campaign. He said due to the corona situation, last year polio cases had increased in the province, but due to serious efforts of the provincial government now there has been considerable reduction in polio cases.

The chief minister termed the eradication of polio virus as a national cause and urged upon all segments of society, including ulema, political leaders, teachers, parents and media to join their hands with the government efforts to eradicate polio virus and give a safe future to our next generation.