MPAs to lead anti-polio drives in their areas

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has got the ongoing provincial assembly session adjourned to allow all MPAs to supervise the polio vaccination campaign in their respective constituencies.

While presiding over a Provincial Task Force meeting on the eve of World Polio Day, the chief minister vowed zero tolerance for refusal during the five-day anti-polio drive starting from Oct 28 and culminating on Nov 3. "This is the reason I decided to engage lawmakers and other elected members, civil society, and Ulema for the campaign," he added.

Attendees at the meeting included Sindh Ministers Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Syed Sardar Shah, Saeed Ghani, Jam Khan Shoro and other officials.

Shah said that former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had launched the polio eradication campaign in 1994. "Thirty years have passed since the launch, but unfortunately, we are still struggling against polio to save the future of our children," he added.

So far this year, there have been 40 polio cases in Pakistan - including 12 in Sindh, 20 in Balochistan, six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one in Punjab - while in Afghanistan there have been 23 cases. "The frequent movement of people from Afghanistan to Pakistan and from one province to the other is said to be one of the reasons behind the eruption of poliovirus," Shah said.

On World Polio Day, the Sindh government, in collaboration with its national and international partners, reaffirms its unwavering commitment to eradicating the crippling disease from the province, the CM said and added that he has instructed the deputy commissioners to ensure the administration of polio vaccine to children, stressing that failure to meet this target will not be tolerated.

SSPs have also been given clear instructions to provide security to vaccinators so that they could achieve their targets. "The SSPs would keep the CM Secretariat posted on their daily security arrangements," he said.