Vaccinated: ‘Need to give 100% to eradicate polio’

KARACHI:

The government of Sindh is starting an anti-polio drive throughout the province from October 24 till October 26, said Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmed while vaccinating two children at the Karachi Press Club on World Polio Day.

He said that neglecting routine immunisation was one of the reasons why the disease had not been eradicated from the province. “Nearly 20 per cent of the polio cases were reported in Sindh,” he said. “Out of the 27 reported cases only four continued to show up for routine check-ups.” He added that they had managed to eliminate the P2 and most of the cases were of the P1 virus. “We need to give our best, our 100 per cent - otherwise we will never be able to overcome the disease,” he said.

UNICEF Country Representative Dan Rohrmann, World Health Organisation’s Dr Jamil Youssef and Rotary International Pakistan Polio Committee National Chairman Aziz Memon were also present.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2011.