QUETTA: The government of Balochistan is trying to make the province polio-free, says the chief minister Dr Abdul Malik Baloch. The forthcoming anti-polio campaigns will focus on areas like Qila Abdullah, Pishin and parts of the Quetta district places where the government faces serious challenges.

Speaking at a meeting, along with the chairman of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Polio, Jean-Marc Oliver, the chief minister said there had been a marked increase in the vaccination campaign in September. Unicef`s polio officer Aidan O`Leary, deput y chief Jalpa R atna, it s polio team leader Dr Jawahir Habib, WHO team lead Dr Ibrahim Yallow and Dr Masood Khan Jogezai, a technical consultant with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, also attended the meeting. Balochistan`s Chief Secretary Saifullah Chattah and Health Secretary Noorul Haq Baloch gave a brief presentation on recent anti-polio campaigns and the problems faced by the polio teams.

Dr Baloch said his government was committed to improving the law and order situation and developing health and education sectors.

The chief secretary, health secretary and other officials have been instructed toremain fully engaged in efforts to provide better healthcare facilities to the people and ensure thatallchildren are vaccinated against preventable diseases.

Dr Malil< said it was essential to pay more attention to Quetta, Pishin and Qila Abdullah. `The next polio campaign will be held in October,` he said. It will be more effective and better organised.

He said the international community should be informed about the significant improvement in the law and order situation in Balochistan. `The province is now more peaceful than ever before,` he said. `We have educated women and men working in the province. The perception that we lack educated women is incorrect.

Mr Oliver said the polio teams had done a good job in last campaign but there were some issues which needed to be addressed.

`There were no teams in some places during the campaign which I think it should be a manageable issue,` he said, adding that the government needed to focus on the areas which had no teams of vaccinators.

The chief secretary announced that the authority of transferring district health officers in Qila Abdullah, Quetta and Pishin had been given to the health secretary.

The health secretary said the health department would deploy experienced medical officers in high-risk areas to ensure successful campaigns in the future.