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KARACHI, Oct 24 (APP):Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, Thursday, on World Polio Day, presided over a Provincial Task Force meeting and announced the adjournment of the ongoing provincial assembly session to allow all the members to actively participate in administering polio drops to the children under the age five-year in their respective constituencies.
Shah said that the move is aimed at strengthening the anti-polio campaign initiated during the tenure of former prime minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto and bringing it to a successful conclusion.
The chief minister said that a five-day anti-polio drive would start from October 28 to November 3 and this time there would be zero tolerance against the refusal cases, that’s why he has decided to engage parliamentarians and other elected members, civil society and the ulemas.
The task force meeting and the World Polio program were held at CM House. Provincial ministers, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Syed Sardar Shah, Saeed Ghani, Jam Khan Shoro, Shahina Sher Ali, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memnon, Additional IG Karachi Javed Odho, provincial secretaries, commissioners and deputy commissioners, Provincial coordinator (EOC) Irshad Sodhar, Incharge provincial government partners Aziz Memon, Dr Sara of WHO and other in anti-polio drive, polio workers and children.
Addressing the gathering, the CM said that Prime Minister Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto launched the polio eradication campaign in 1994 there were hundreds of cases in Pakistan. “30 years have passed since that campaign, but unfortunately, we are still struggling against polio to save the future of our children.
The CM said that there were 40 polio cases in the country, including 12 in Sindh, 20 in Balochistan, Six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one in Punjab. He added that Afghanistan has 23 cases. “The frequent movement of the people from Afghanistan to Pakistan and from one province to another is said to be one of the reasons behind the eruption of polio cases,” he said.
On World Polio Day, the Sindh government, in collaboration with its national and international partners, reaffirms its unwavering commitment to eradicating polio from the province, Shah said and added that he has instructed the deputy commissioners to ensure the administration of the polio vaccine to the children, emphasizing that failure to meet this target will not be tolerated.
Murad Shah also said that the SSPs have also been given clear instructions to provide appropriate security to the polio teams so that they could achieve their targets. “The SSPs would keep the CM secretariat reports of their daily security arrangements,” he said.
The CM said that Sindh has made significant progress in the fight against polio, reducing cases from tens of thousands annually in the 1990s to just double digits today. He credited this progress to the dedicated efforts of health workers, community mobilizers, and the government’s focused polio eradication strategies.
Murad Shah said that World Polio Day reminds us of the immense efforts required to bring Sindh closer to becoming polio-free. “Since the inception of Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts in 1994, Sindh has been at the forefront, working diligently to vaccinate every child,” he said and added that in 1994, over 20,000 cases of polio were recorded annually across Pakistan. “Today, that number is dramatically reduced, but the fight is not over,” he said.
Minister of Health Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho addressed the significance of the day and said that we are on the verge of achieving something extraordinary—the complete eradication of polio. She said that the provincial government is committed to using every available resource to ensure that every child receives the ‘polio se bachao ke qatray’—the drops that protect our children and our future.
This year, Sindh has reported 12 polio cases, highlighting that while significant progress has been made, there is still work to be done. The Government of Sindh, with support from international organizations, continues to lead vaccination drives across the province.
On October 28th, we are starting our next National Immunisation Days (NIDs) campaign, in which every child under the age of five will be given polio vaccine, along with Vitamin A supplements to boost their immunity. Special focus remains on high-risk districts and hard-to-reach communities, with thousands of frontline workers actively engaged in ongoing vaccination campaigns.
Irshad Ali Sodhar, Provincial Coordinator for Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Sindh, acknowledged the dedication of health workers. “Our health workers are the backbone of the polio eradication effort. They face many challenges in the field, but their determination to protect every child is inspiring. We are confident that with their continued efforts, we will see the last polio case in Sindh soon.”
The Chief Minister on World Polio Day urged all parents to ensure their children are vaccinated against polio. Vaccination campaigns are ongoing across the province, and the cooperation of parents and communities remains essential in eliminating this debilitating disease.
Earlier, CM Murad Ali Shah chaired a meeting of the Provincial Task Force and got a detailed briefing on the current polio status of polio cases and the efforts of the government.
The Chief Minister was informed that 10.6 million children under the age of 5 would be targeted with the OPV vaccine in all
30 districts of the province. Moreover, 9.5 million children between the ages of six months and five years will receive Vitamin A capsules.
The campaign would begin in the Mirpurkhas Division (Mirpurkhas, Umerkot, Tharparkar) on Friday, October 25th, while the rest of the 27 districts would start the campaign on Monday, October 28th. A total of 80,000 frontline workers will participate in this campaign.
To a question, the CM was told that 11,896 of 30% refusals were approached out of a total of 39,908 during the special missed children coverage activity.
A total of 5,764, or 48% of the total approached refusals, and 51,448 not available (Not Available) children. were tracked and vaccinated. At the World Polio Day programme, the chief minister, provincial ministers, and others administered polio drops to the children and gave them gifts.