Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that `eradication of polio is a collective responsibility, therefore district administration, local bodies, civil society members and our partners must work together “to save our children from the crippling disease of polio”.
“We are launching a week-long National Immunization Campaign from Monday, 29th April in 25 districts, therefore all the deputy commissioners and SSPs must ensure its success by supporting the polio teams in administering Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) to children below 5 -years of age.”This he said while presiding over a meeting of the Provincial Task Force for Eradication of Polio here at CM House on Saturday.
The meeting was attended by Minister Health Dr Azra Pechuho, Mayor Karachi Murtaza Wahab, Secretary to CM Raheem Shaikh, Home Secretary Iqbal Memon, IG Police Ghulam Nabi Memon and others.
The chief minister said that polio has been eradicated from the entire region, except for Afghanistan and Pakistan, both of which have two cases each.
Minister Health Dr. Azra Pechuho, informed the CM that two cases of polio have been detected in Balochistan’s Dera Bugti and Chaman districts.Environmental Samples (ES): The CM was told that the environmental samples (ES) collected from all the districts showed that 43 areas of 11 districts were infected with polioviruses.
