Anti-polio campaign begins

The campaign will continue in Karachi till April 28, ends in other districts on April 24

KARACHI: Sindh Health Secretary Saeed Ahmed Awan has said that eight out of 11 sites in Karachi were found to be positive for the presence of polio virus. According to him, the polio virus was also present in Kambar, Jacobabad, Sukkur and Hyderabad. In light of this, an anti-polio campaign was launched on Monday across Sindh in which nine million children, including 2.4m children in Karachi, will be administered anti-polio vaccines, said the health secretary.

He was addressing a press conference at the Larkana Press Club on Monday.

According to Sindh Emergency Operation Centre for Polio (EOCP) officials, the campaign began on Monday and will continue till April 28 in Karachi, and till April 24 in other districts.

Awan said 30 polio cases were reported in 2014 but this year there has been only one case so far, which was of a 35-month-old baby in Lyari.

More than 56,000 frontline workers, including team members and in-charges will reportedly be participating in this campaign across Sindh. In Karachi alone, there are more than 12,000 community health workers supported by over 2,500 area in-charges who will administer polio drops to children.

"This is an extremely important campaign as environmental samples are positive and it is through vaccination that children could be saved from polio," said EOCP spokesperson.

Meanwhile, addressing journalists after the inaugural of the national oral polio vaccine (OPV) campaign at the Sindh Emergency Operation Centre for Polio in Karachi on Monday, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said that the polio drops given under the OPV hold no hazards but simply boost the immunity of recipients. She urged parents to not refuse the vaccinators visiting their homes for OPV administration even if their children were covered under routine immunisation.

"The exercise is meant to provide blanket cover to all children against the virus that persists in our environment," said Dr Pechuho referring to the OPV drops.

Acknowledging that some affluent families were hesitant to let the door-the-door OPV teams access their under-five children, she said that the elitist mind-set had to be done away with. She urged media to raise awareness among people and inform them the OPV administered at clinics of renowned paediatricians, by government-run dispensaries and by authorised mobile teams was of the same quality.

According to her, there were around a 100,000 children, including 35,000 in Karachi, who were reported to be not available at home during previous campaigns held this year. She warned that the government could register FIRs against refusals as per law and legal action could be taken.

While in Hyderabad, the campaign began on Monday with Hyderabad Commissioner Muhammad Abbass Baloch administering drops to a child. More than 340,000 children will be immunised against polio in Hyderabad during the four-day campaign. Baloch directed health officials and the district administration to ensure 100% success of the campaign. He said it was incumbent on polio teams to persuade such parents who refuse to immunise their children under five years of age from polio virus. "There is no doubt we have been working hard to eradicate the menace of polio but we can do more to achieve still greater results," he added.

The immunisation in Hyderabad is being carried out through 1,031 mobile teams, 117 fixed points, 23 transit points and 67 health facilitation centers while 1,048 lady health workers, 85 doctors and 12 supervisor doctors are participating. Polio virus was found in Hyderabad's sewage for three consecutive months since January.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2019.