Week-long anti-polio campaign begins tomorrow
A health worker administers oral polio vaccine to a child at a slum in Karachi. PHOTO: APP/FILE
The seven-day anti-polio campaign in Sindh will kick off from Monday (tomorrow).
Under the National Immunisation Programme, children under the age of five years will be given vitamin A capsules along with polio vaccine in all the districts of the province.
Reportedly, the campaign has set a target to vaccinate 4.96 million children in Hyderabad and Karachi divisions.
According to the sources in health authorities, not a single case of polio has been reported in Sindh since July 2020. However, the virus is still present in some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [KPK].
In this regard, an official from health department said that the communities in extremely high-risk Union Councils (UCs) need rigorous efforts and services to eradicate polio virus. “We are addressing this through new initiatives, including establishment of water filtration plants, pilot dispensaries, model EPI centres as well as mother and child healthcare facilities,” he said.
He said that among many other initiatives, health camps have been set up in vulnerable areas across the province.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 22nd, 2023.