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KARACHI, Oct 03 (APP):Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah is planning to take drastic measures against parents, who refuse the polio vaccine for their children, including blocking their cell phone SIMs and suspending their national identity cards as well as passports to prevent them from accessing communication and travel facilities, as a consequence for endangering not only their own children but also others by making them susceptible to polio.
“I have no other options but to penalise those who avoid their national duty of eradicating polio, a responsibility that starts at home and affects the entire province and country,” he said.
Murad Ali Shah has decided to set up a ‘Polio Vaccine Refusal Cell’ at the CM House. This cell will be provided with union council-wise details of parents refusing to vaccinate their children so they can be addressed through social, political and administrative means.
The chief minister took these decisions while presiding over a meeting on polio eradication at CM House on Friday.
The CM expressed regret over the continued reporting of polio cases, despite intensive efforts. He directed the Health Department and district administrations to work seriously towards eradicating polio.
Shah warned that negligence in the polio campaign would not be tolerated. “Any official not showing performance will no longer be part of his team. I have already removed some officers from the Health Department and administration,” he said and added that further negligence in polio eradication will lead to the removal of responsible officers, he added.
The purpose of today’s meeting is to launch the polio campaign at the Union Council level with renewed enthusiasm, he said, adding that in the past week, two more polio cases were reported, raising the province’s total to nine, which is quite painful.
Among the 29 polio cases reported nationwide, Sindh has nine, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has 18, while Punjab and Azad Jammu & Kashmir have one each.
“I do not want a routine presentation regarding polio eradication,” stated the Chief Minister. He demanded a comprehensive plan from the Health Department for polio eradication.
Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho and EOC Coordinator Irshad Sodhar briefed the CM.
The new cases reported are two each from Thatta and Badin, while Mithi, Umerkot, Hyderabad, Qambar, and Larkana have one each. Most cases occurred because parents refused to give the polio drops, or children were not at home during vaccination campaigns. The Karachi and Malir cases are due to refusal, informed the chief minister.
Murad Shah instructed that legal action must be taken against all those refusing anti-polio drops. Refusing anti-polio vaccination is absolutely unacceptable, he emphasised. He questioned how parents could refuse polio drops and cause their children to become disabled. “Such refusal harms not only their children but also spreads the virus to other children,” he added.
Environmental samples for polio in Karachi have tested positive, the meeting was informed. Currently, the polio virus is present in areas including Sohrab Goth, Mosquito Colony, Chakro Nalo, and Rashid Minhas in East Karachi. In West Karachi, virus presence is confirmed in Khamiso Goth, Orangi, and Muhammad Khan Colony in Keamari. In Malir, Bakhtawar Goth; in Korangi, Korangi Nala; in Central Karachi, Haji Merid Goth; and in South, Hijrat Colony and Manzoor Colony show the presence of polio virus.
Murad Ali Shah ordered administrative measures to eliminate refusals and to report progress back to him.
From 13 October, the polio campaign must be conducted with a war-like approach, directed by the chief minister. The entire administration must actively participate to make the polio campaign successful, he urged.
The chief minister appealed to the public to come forward so that their children and their neighbours’ children remain polio-free.
During the September polio campaign, 216,664 children missed the polio drops, the chief minister was informed. Out of these, 181,142 children were not at home, while 35,522 children’s parents refused vaccination, the CM was told.
The chief minister directed the activation of the Refusal Conversion Committee (RCC) to address and eliminate all refusal cases promptly. The committee must visit refusal cases immediately after the campaign, he emphasised.
After listening to the briefing and the issues of refusal, the chief minister said that he is considering blocking mobile SIMs and suspending identity cards of those refusing polio drops. He directed Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to submit to him a plan to block mobile SIMs, ID cards, and passports of polio drop refusal individuals.
The chief minister also established a Polio Drop Refusal Cell at the CM House. The Health Department was directed to provide details of refusal cases by the Union Council for action.
Elected representatives, Deputy Commissioners, and SSP will visit such households to administer polio drops forcibly, ordered the Chief Minister.
After receiving the briefing, the Chief Minister observed that most of the new cases in rural areas have been reported from the border areas of the districts. This time, he emphasised that polio vaccination must also cover all nomadic families. Hyderabad and Mirpurkhas Divisions house nomadic families migrating from one area to another, he said.
Minister Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memon, Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, Secretary School Education Zahid Abbasi, Secretary Local Govt Waseem Shamshad, Senior Member Board of Revenue Khalid Hyder Shah, Secretary Health Rehan Baloch, Additional IG Karachi Javed Odho, Coordinator EOC Irashad Sodhar, Director PPHI Javed Jagirani, DG Health Dr Waqar Mahmood, all deputy commissioners of Karachi and (on video link) all divisional commissioners, DIGs and their deputy commissioners as well as DHOs were in attendance.