Week-long polio campaign begins tomorrow

Over 8 million children across Sindh will be administered polio drops

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has announced the launch of a week-long national immunization campaign across the province starting from Monday. During the campaign, eight million children will be administered Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV).

"The eradication of polio is a collective responsibility, therefore, district administration, local bodies, civil society members and all partners must work together to save children from the crippling disease," said the chief minister. Presiding over a meeting of the Sindh Task Force for polio rradication at the CM House, he instructed that all the deputy commissioners and SSPs must ensure its success by supporting the polio teams during the campaign. 

Sindh Minister for Health Dr Azra Pechuho, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, CM Secretary Raheem Shaikh, Home Secretary Iqbal Memon, IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memon, Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi, Secretary School Education Zahid Abbasi, Additional IG Karachi Imran Yakoob, and other officers attended the meeting. 

The chief minister said that polio has been eradicated from the entire region, except for Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which recently have detected two cases each. Health minister Dr Pechuho informed the CM that two cases of polio have been detected in Dera Bugti and Chaman districts. 

The CM was informed that the environmental samples collected from all the districts showed that 43 areas of 11 districts were infected with polioviruses. They include 13 areas of Karachi east, three each of central, Malir and Korangi, Hyderabad and Sukkur, Six each of south and Keamari, and one each in Jamshoro Jacobabad and Badin. 

The chief minister directed the district administration, local bodies and solid waste management to ensure proper cleanliness in the districts where the virus has been detected. "If you find any refusal coming from the guardians or parents, inform the district administration for the strict action against them," CM said. 

The CM was further told that the Polio Ambassador Unitive Project has been launched in Karachi and is now being expanded across the province with 407 schools participating and 901 new polio ambassadors inducted this month. The chief minister directed IG Police to depute 3,833 policemen for security duty at the polio camps.