Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday launched the province-wide anti-polio campaign by administering drops to two newborns at KMC Gizri Maternity Home.
The week-long campaign, running from October 13 to 19, aims to vaccinate over 10.6 million children under five across Sindh.
Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, IGP Ghulam Nabi Memon, Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi, Secretary School Education Zahid Abbasi, Secretary Health Rehan Baloch, senior health and education officials, EOC Coordinator Irshad Sodhar, and representatives from UNICEF, WHO, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and Rotary others were also present on the occasion.
The Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah emphasised the importance of full monitoring in all districts and announced that vaccination teams would visit households to administer anti-polio drops and provide Vitamin A supplements. He noted that 80,000 health workers and 21,000 security personnel are participating in the campaign.
Expressing concern over the reporting of nine new polio cases in Sindh this year, as well as the continued presence of the virus in environmental samples Shah said, “Polio elimination is our moral responsibility. Every child deserves a healthy and safe future.”
He urged parents to ensure their children receive the drops and to contact the nearest health centre if any child is missed. Shah also called on religious scholars, teachers, civil society, politicians, and the media to support the campaign. He assured parents of the vaccine’s safety, recalling that Shaheed Benazir Bhutto had administered it to her own daughter, Asifa Bhutto Zardari.
The Chief Minister reaffirmed the government’s commitment, in collaboration with WHO, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, and Rotary International, to make Pakistan polio-free. He stated that any refusal to vaccinate would be reported to a monitoring cell at the Chief Minister’s House, and efforts would be made to convince parents.
Talking to the media, Shah emphasised that polio is still endemic only in Pakistan and Afghanistan, stressing their aim for 100 per cent coverage across all 1,400 UCs in Sindh. He added that Pakistani teams also vaccinate Afghan children before they return across the border.
To intensify awareness, letters will be sent to all media outlets to promote the campaign. In a lighter tone, Shah said, “I have administered polio drops so many times that I have become an expert,” adding, “This is not a difficult task-it is our duty to protect our children.”
He concluded by reaffirming the Pakistan Peoples Party government’s pledge: “We will create a polio-free Pakistan.”