CM inaugurates week-long anti-polio drive

Urges parents to cooperate with vaccinators and save their children's future

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has urged the parents to cooperate with the polio teams which will knock at their doors to administer polio drops to their children of up to five years of age, so that the life and future of the children could be saved against the crippling disease.

This he said in a message to the parents after just inaugurating the week-long anti-polio drive here at the CM House. Minister Health Dr Azra Pechuho, Chief Secretary Sohail Rajput, Adl IG Karachi Javed Odho, Secretary Health Zulfiqar Shah, Coordinator EOC, Fayaz Abbasi, and others were present on the occasion.

Shah said he is happy to announce that during the last two years no new case of polio has been notified in Sindh but the anti-polio drive is meant to eradicate the disease from Pakistan. 

"We, with the support of parents, and with the efforts of the health department and Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) for Eradication of Polio and door-to-door campaign by polio workers have succeeded in preventing polio but it is yet to be eradicated from the country," he said and urged parents to cooperate with the teams visiting them to administer polio vaccine to their children.

It may be noted that the EOC of the health department has launched a week-long (Oct 24 to 30) anti-polio drive in 21 districts and partially in the flood-affected districts of Jamshoro, Shaheed Benazirabad, and Kambar.

During the campaign, the provincial government has set a target of giving polio drops to 6.6 million children. For tihs purpose, 17,859 teams have been formed.