Week-long polio vaccination campaign kicks off

2.585m children under five years of age will be administered polio drops

KARACHI:

The seven-day anti-polio campaign was launched across Sindh in which more than 10 million children aged up to five years would be administered anti-polio drops across the province.

Caretaker Health Minister Sindh Dr. Saad Khalid Niaz inaugurated the campaign by administering polio drops to the children in Mother and Child Hospital, Sachal Goth District, East.

Over 80,000 polio workers and supervisors are participating in the anti-polio campaign, and more than 5,300 police personnel will be deployed in the field for the security of the polio workers while Pakistan Rangers's assistance will also be available.

Dr Saad Khalid Niaz, speaking at the occasion said that this year, five cases of polio have been reported in Pakistan, out of which three cases were reported from District Bannu of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa while two cases were reported from District East, Karachi.

In the last two months, several positive environmental samples of the polio virus have been reported in Karachi, he said adding that the positive environmental patterns appearing from Karachi were related to different parts of Afghanistan.

Since Karachi is the economic hub of the entire region, the repeated appearance of positive environmental patterns is a matter of concern, Dr. Saad Khalid said, adding that the appearance of positive environmental patterns from Karachi raises the fear of endangering the children of the entire region and the world.

Emergency Operation Center (EOC) Coordinator Sindh Irshad Sodhar, Deputy Commissioner District East Altaf Ahmad Sheikh, Dr. Ahmed Ali Sheikh, representatives of WHO and others were present on this occasion.

Read Week-long anti-polio drive starts today

In Karachi, the campaign targets 2.585 million children up to the age of five years. More than 11,000 workers have been assigned to perform their duties in during the campaign.

Commissioner Karachi Muhammad Saleem Rajput directed all the deputy commissioners to make concerted efforts for the success of polio campaign and achieve the vaccination target.

He stressed on comprehensive planning to administer polio drops to children who missed the vaccination and those who refused to take polio drops.

He directed the deputy commissioners to monitor the campaign in their respective districts and ensure positive results.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Sindh police Riffat Mukhtar Raja has ordered strict security during the polio eradication campaign in the province.

He instructed the police force to adopt strict measures to ensure safety and security of polio teams especially in the sensitive areas.

The IG said that commandos should also be deployed in plain clothes and maintain strict vigilance by random snap-checking, picketing, and patrolling.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2023.