Close X
Monday, December 2, 2024
ADVT 
International

Anti-Polio Drive Suspended In Pakistan For Security Reasons

Darpan News Desk IANS, 21 May, 2015 11:34 AM
    An anti-polio drive was suspended on Thursday in Pakistan's Quetta city due to authorities' failure to provide adequate security to polio administration teams, media reports said.
     
    A source in the the Balochistan health department said the anti-polio drive would be re-launched on Friday after appropriate security was provided by the administration, Dawn reported.
     
    "There are polio samples in the environment of Quetta ... We fear (there may be) polio cases in Quetta," a source said.
     
    Polio teams have been attacked in Quetta and other parts of Balochistan in the past.
     
    In November 2014, gunmen attacked an anti-polio team in Quetta's Eastern Bypass area and killed four polio workers, including three women volunteers.
     
    The Balochistan health department -- with the support of Unicef and other organisations -- aims to administer polio drops to more than 400,000 children below the age of five years in Quetta during the ongoing campaign.
     
    The campaign, during its first phase, was launched in 18 union councils on Wednesday morning.
     
    "The second phase will be launched on May 25 in different parts of Quetta," said campaign Emergency Centre Coordinator Saifur Rehman in a statement.
     
    During 2015, three polio cases have been reported from Balochistan's Killa Abdullah, Loralai and Quetta areas.
     
    Currently, a polio campaign is underway in Zhob, Sherani, Lasbella and four other districts of the province.
     
    The provincial government has decided to provide anti-polio drops to 1.2 million children in these districts.

    MORE International ARTICLES

    US Lawmakers Move To Speed Up Visa Approvals For Indian Doctors

    US Lawmakers Move To Speed Up Visa Approvals For Indian Doctors
    Citing a shortage of physicians in the US, two lawmakers have introduced a bipartisan legislation to speed-up visa approval for Indian and Pakistani doctors slated to work at US hospitals.

    US Lawmakers Move To Speed Up Visa Approvals For Indian Doctors

    Over 1,800 Dead in Nepal Earthquake; Fresh Tremors Rock Delhi, Northern India

    Over 1,800 Dead in Nepal Earthquake; Fresh Tremors Rock Delhi, Northern India
    An Indian meteorological official said here the epicentre of the fresh tremors also lay in Nepal, where a powerful earthquake on Saturday killed nearly 2,000 people.

    Over 1,800 Dead in Nepal Earthquake; Fresh Tremors Rock Delhi, Northern India

    155 Killed As 7.9 Earthquake Rocks Nepal, Shakes India

    155 Killed As 7.9 Earthquake Rocks Nepal, Shakes India
    At least 155 people were killed and many were left bloodied when a massive earthquake shook Nepal and India, causing widespread devastation. Buildings collapsed, roads cracked and phone lines snapped as the earth trembled.

    155 Killed As 7.9 Earthquake Rocks Nepal, Shakes India

    Islamic State Kills 10 People, Shoots Down Plane In Syria

    Islamic State Kills 10 People, Shoots Down Plane In Syria
    Islamic State (IS) militants killed 10 people, many of them Kurds, in northern Syria on Friday and shot down a military aircraft in the south of the country, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, or SOHR, reported.

    Islamic State Kills 10 People, Shoots Down Plane In Syria

    P.E.I. Doctor Rescues Disabled Man Who Fell Onto Subway Tracks In Washington

    P.E.I. Doctor Rescues Disabled Man Who Fell Onto Subway Tracks In Washington
    A Charlottetown doctor says he didn't hesitate because there was no time to waste when he jumped from a subway platform in Washington, D.C., earlier this week to rescue a disabled man whose wheelchair had toppled onto the tracks.

    P.E.I. Doctor Rescues Disabled Man Who Fell Onto Subway Tracks In Washington

    'America's Doctor' Vivek Murthy Recounts 'Improbable Rise'

    'America's Doctor' Vivek Murthy Recounts 'Improbable Rise'
    Son of Indian immigrant parents, Dr. Vivek Murthy says his rise to the position of "America's Doctor" was improbable but he got where he was by standing on principle.

    'America's Doctor' Vivek Murthy Recounts 'Improbable Rise'