Hyderabad Gears Up For Polio Drive

News Desk

Hyderabad: A seven-day polio eradication campaign kicked off on October 2 in all talukas of Hyderabad district with the active participation of all stakeholders, informed Commissioner Khalid Haider Shah.

Khalid Haider informally inaugurated the drive by administering anti-polio drops to under-five-year-old children at Government Shah Bhitai Hospital Latifabad on Thursday.

Haider Shah stated that there have been no reported cases of polio from anywhere in Sindh for the past three years, as a result of the tireless efforts of all stakeholders. However, vigilance should be maintained in order to ensure the province remains permanently polio-free, he added.

In spite of the fact that the administration and department responsible have been praised for their efforts to eradicate polio, the stakeholders still need to put in a lot of effort, Shah added.

Commission further said there is a need for the parents to realize their responsibility, extend full cooperation with the vaccination team, and get their underage children vaccinated against this disease.

The media should also play its due role in eradicating polio from society, he added.

Sargodha targets over 689,400 children: A five-day anti-polio campaign is going to start from October 2-5 in the district in which nearly 689,411 children below the age of five years will be administered polio drops.

Health Authority Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Asad Aslam informed that 3,371 teams, including mobile, fixed and transit teams, would be formed to achieve the 100 percent target of the anti-polio campaign.

Dr Aslam urged the parents to cooperate with the teams and play their role in making Pakistan a polio-free country.

Bahawalpur to vaccinate over 0.8m: No child should be left non-vaccinated during the five-day anti-polio campaign starting on October 2 in the Bahawalpur district, in which over 0.8 million children up to five years of age will be vaccinated, said Deputy Commissioner Bahawalpur Zaheer Anwar Jappa.

The meeting was informed that the door-to-door campaign will continue from October 2 to October 4 and the left-out children will be vaccinated under the catch-up activity on October 5 and 6.

DC Jappa further informed that children would also be given vitamin-A capsules to improve their immunity.

Chairing a review meeting in his office on Thursday, the Deputy Commissioner directed that children should be made aware of polio prevention in educational institutions. He added that polio drops should also be given to children living in remote areas of Cholistan.

Zaheer Anwar further said that the team members should work actively at the bus stands, and the Regional Transport Authority needs to play an active role in this regard.

Moreover, Jappa stated that members of the polio teams should be trained to perform their duties in a better manner. Committees should be formed at the tehsil levels for the monitoring of teams, he added.

DC informed that 3276 mobile teams, 195 fixed teams and 136 transit teams would work in the field during the campaign. And 132 Union Council Monitoring Officers and 667 Area Incharges would supervise the campaign.

Vaccination mandatory for Afghan refugees: Two cases of polio have been reported this year, while 27 positive environmental samples were confirmed. The presence of polio virus in environmental samples is reported from the sewage systems of Peshawar, Hangu, Karachi and Lahore.

The virus is genetically similar to the polio virus present in Afghanistan. Therefore, the authorities have decided to make polio vaccination compulsory for Afghan residents coming from the Pak-Afghan Torkham and Chaman borders. The children coming with Afghan refugees will also be vaccinated, and their record of vaccination in Afghanistan will also be checked.