QUETTA: Set to begin on December 16, the nationwide polio drive will finally commence in Balochistan on December 30. Quetta Grand Health Alliance, who had boycotted the anti-polio campaign, clarified their position by issuing a statement on Thursday.
The alliance alleged government indifference towards their demands and criticised the formulation of present measures of vaccination campaign. The meeting of the Grand Health Alliance Balochistan Core Committee was held under the leadership of the alliance chairman Dr Bihar Shah.
Also read: ‘Countrywide’ anti-polio campaign fails to reach Kurram district, halted in Balochistan
The members decided to continue the boycott of the anti-polio campaign due to the government’s refusal to accept their demands. “The provincial government will run the polio campaign with untrained people, and if the drives continues this way, it will do more harm than good at the hands of unqualified people.”
Despite spending a large amount of funds on anti-polio efforts, the polio virus is not being mitigated, the alliance said. The statement also warned of stricter decisions in the protest movement if the government continues to ignore their demands.
The health alliance is also protesting against the government’s decision to privatise government hospitals in the province and wants the government to rescind the announcement in this regard.
The anti-polio campaign was supposed to kick off in Balochistan alongside rest of the country. The grand alliance, however, announced a boycott on Sunday.
Also read: PM Shehbaz vows to drive poliovirus out of Pakistan’s borders
On Monday, the vaccination campaign was delayed by one day. Reportedly, the provincial home department had written a letter to the Balochistan Health Department to delay the campaign by one-day, citing security issues. The campaign, however, was delayed once again by another day. The Emergency Operation Center (EOC) announced the delay yesterday, but did not cite a reason for it this time.