Fighting the virus: Polio campaign in three Karachi districts starts today

The drive against the crippling disease will continue until December 16

KARACHI: A polio campaign is set to begin in three districts of Karachi today (Wednesday) under the supervision of the Karachi Task Force (KTF).

The drive against the crippling disease will continue till December 16. In the first phase, the polio teams will administer polio drops to children of the West, East and Malir districts from December 9 to December 12, while the remaining three districts will be covered in the second phase from December 13 to December 16.



The polio teams will also cover children in 23 other districts of the province from December 14 to 17. More than eight million children will be administered polio drops, including approximately 2.1 million children in Karachi.

According to the Sindh police, a total of 4,325 personnel, including commandos, are being deployed to provide security to the polio teams and doctors.

According to the security plan, besides the police available at the police stations where the polio drive is being conducted, additional security personnel from the Special Security Unit, Rapid Response Force, Sindh Reserve Police, Counter-Terrorism Department, Sindh, Crime Branch and other departments will be provided to make the drive effective. The police teams, with the support of other area stakeholders, will provide extraordinary security to the polio teams.

Sindh IG Ghulam Hyder Jamali has directed officials to take extra measures in the most sensitive areas. Routine checking and patrolling will be enhanced in high-risk areas.

Karachi commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui, during the meeting with KTF, decided that there was need to improve the monitoring system and to increase polio teams.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 9^th, 2015.