Upcoming anti-polio campaign to cover 6.5m children

Special focus will be on children still in marooned villages

KARACHI:

Sindh Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho and Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput chaired the meeting on the upcoming anti-polio campaign.

As many as 6.5 million children across the province will be vaccinated during the campaign which is scheduled from October 24 to 30, 2022. Commissioners Karachi, Larkana and representatives of the EOC, Sindh, UNICEF and WHO attended the meeting. Commissioners of Hyderabad, Shaheed Benazirabad and Sukkur, along with deputy commissioners of each district attended the meeting through video link.

The meeting was informed that in 2020, 11 environmental samples of polio found were found while in 2022 so far 20 cases of polio have ben identified in KP. Despite anti polio campaigns across the country environmental samples of the genetic clusters of polio have been found.

In Malir, Karachi an environmental sample of the polio virus was detected in August and the environmental sample as well as the 20 cases of polio in KP of the same genetic structure have been found.

Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho said that the biggest challenge for them at the moment in the wake of floods is to reach every single child and vaccinate against polio.

She added that there is a need for a comprehensive plan to cover flood-affected areas and the regions where water is still standing. Boats may be used to send vaccinators to administer polio vaccine among the children there.

Special focus should be on children in IDP camps, to ensure that every child is vaccinated against polio, Dr. Azra Pechuho said.

Sindh has not reported any polio cases in the last two years, Sohail Rajput said. Parents who refuse the polio vaccine for their children will be informed about the benefit of polio vaccine and they will be convinced have their children vaccinated against polio.

The meeting was also informed that there are 5,314 children in Karachi whose parents have been refusing to get their children vaccinated against polio and special focus must be given to these refusal cases.

Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho added that October 24 is the World Polio Awareness Day, therefore, there will be various activities relevant to it.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 22^nd, 2022.