New polio cases finally bring govt’s attention to Gadap

Sindh government declares the city’s most vulnerable area a ‘model UC’

KARACHI: Two more polio cases emerged in Sindh on Friday, taking the year’s tally to 19 in the province and shaking the Sindh government enough to lead them to announce new sanitation schemes for Gadap - one of the most vulnerable areas of the province when it comes to the crippling disease.

In Tando Allahyar, a 22-month-old boy tested positive for polio, but died before his diagnosis was confirmed. His parents said that their baby died because he was ill.

Meanwhile, another case was reported from Sukkur district, where a seven-year-old girl was found to be infected with the virus, confirmed health officials.

CM angered

The province’s latest anti-polio drive only concluded on Tuesday, with over 100 per cent children in Sindh, including children visiting from other provinces, being vaccinated by polio workers, according to statistics shared by the Emergency Operation Centre. Sindh Chief Minister (CM) Syed Murad Ali Shah had recently ordered health authorities to take all possible measures to eradicate the virus, envisioning a polio-free province by the end of 2020.

Misinformation to blame for polio challenge in K-P

As the news of the two new cases emerged on Friday, Shah expressed his anger to the province’s health authorities. In a statement, he said that all measures were taken for the eradication of polio from Sindh, but there was no positive result.

Health authorities told Shah that the virus was spread by families who migrate and travel to Sindh from parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

A ‘model UC’

With such frequent emergence of new polio cases in Sindh, the chief minister has announced a special development package for the Gadap Union Council (UC), declaring it a ‘model UC.’

Health authorities have been highlighting Gadap as one of the most vulnerable areas in Sindh when it came to the spread of polio for some years now, along with Dadu, Sukkur and Qambar-Shahdadkot. Most of the environmental samples they had taken from these areas have reportedly tested positive.

On Friday, before leaving for Rawalpindi for the commemoration of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s death anniversary, the chief minister immediately responded to news of the new polio cases by ordering the Sindh Planning and Development Department to initiate water and sanitation schemes for Karachi’s most vulnerable UC.

Sources also told The Express Tribune that if health experts highlighted other areas in the city in a similar way, they too would be given the special status of a model UC in order to allow the development of their basic infrastructure.

Commenting on the Sindh government’s announcement, Gadap resident Muhammad Ilyas said the government should have taken such steps at least four years ago. “The condition of sanitation here is completely pathetic and the sewerage system has collapsed,” he said, adding that the government should focus on long-term projects to develop the area.

“Simply displaying banners across the city and administering vaccines will not work,” maintained Ilyas, who has been observing anti-polio campaigns in his neighbourhood for years. “The virus spreads from one area to another, and all the experts know it,” he added, saying that the authorities should focus on basic issues like sanitation and water instead of spending vast amounts of money on vaccination campaigns.

Meanwhile, a health official, speaking to The Express Tribune, said that there were other areas in the city that needed the same attention. “What about Machhar Colony and Ibrahim Haidery?” he questioned. “There are over a dozen UCs that should be declared model UCs.”

Spreading through migration

According to health authorities, most of the children that have recently tested positive for polio in Sindh have had travel histories linked to either Gadap or other provinces.

Five polio cases confirmed in K-P; year's count rises to 32

Polio workers previously used to administer oral polio vaccines at exit and entry points on provincial borders, but were unable to continue this practice due to the lack of cooperation from other agencies, including the police and transporters. The CM has directed Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Mumtaz Ali Shah to inform officials from the National Highway Authority and relevant federal and provincial departments to cooperate with the polio workers.

“Poliovirus spread in Sindh because of the families that travel here from Balochistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa,” claimed Shah, ordering Sindh IGP Dr Kaleem Imam to direct police officials deployed at toll plazas and provincial entry points to assist polio workers in administering the vaccine to children coming to Sindh from other provinces.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 28^th, 2019.