Balochistan's Polio Campaign Faces Delay Amid Health Workers' Strike

The scheduled polio vaccination drive in Balochistan has been delayed for two weeks due to a strike by health workers demanding better conditions. The campaign is set to start on December 30. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the last polio-endemic nations worldwide, with significant cases reported in Balochistan.

The polio vaccination drive across Balochistan, originally set to launch this week, has been postponed for a fortnight, as reported by Dawn. Inamul Haq, coordinator of the Balochistan Emergency Operations Centre, confirmed that the campaign will now begin on December 30 province-wide.

A high-level meeting on December 16, with officials from all 36 districts present, underscored the need for additional preparations to combat the prevalent polio virus. Of the 63 polio cases reported in Pakistan this year, Balochistan accounts for 26, followed by 18 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 17 in Sindh, and one each in Punjab and Islamabad.

Significantly, sources indicate the suspension is due to a health workers' strike, initiated by a health alliance demanding permanent recruitment of medical personnel, cessation of public-private hospital collaborations, and improved medical resources.

Despite the disease's prevalence, health alliance members had forewarned a boycott unless their demands were met. WHO states polio remains an incurable but preventable disease, emphasizing widespread immunization to eradicate it, with Pakistan and Afghanistan being the last polio-endemic countries globally.

(With inputs from agencies.)