Staff Reporter
After a gap of more than 5 months in the city. More than 23 lac children of under-five years of age in all six districts of the city will be administered polio drops during an anti-polio campaign. The campaign will continue for a week in all six districts of Karachi. This was decided in a meeting held under the chairmanship of Commissioner Karachi Iftikhr Shallwani at his office.
The meeting was attended among others by all the six deputy commissioners, Coordinator for Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) for Polio Eradication, senior officials of health and police departments and officials of Pakistan Rangers, representatives of WHO, UNICEF, Rotary Pakistan and other partners and officials. It was decided in a meeting that more than ten thousand polio teams would be deputed to perform their duties.
The meeting was informed that more than 4 thousand police and rangers would be deputed during the campaign for the security, Commissioner appealed the parents to please cooperate with the polio teams to get their children of five years of age to administer the polio drops which is being exercised for the safety of the future of their children.
He also asked the community leaders as well as religious leaders to become conscious and realize their responsibility for the importance of anti-polio campaign and extend full support. Polio eradication campaign was suspended in June 2019 due the failure of the coverage of missing children, told by the concerned officials to the commissioner. The WHO decided to renew the strategic plan that would motivate parents to understand the importance of the anti-polio campaign.
They would be approached individually to convince them that they should cooperate for the benefit of their children and give access to their children have polio drops. The Technical Committee of WHO wanted to train the polio teams and make a comprehensive plan to involve area-based community leaders. Strategic plan was briefed to the commissioner in detail.
Commissioner hoped that all deputy commissioners and other stake holders would ensure that the comprehensive strategic plan developed by the WHO Technical committee would be fully be addressed.
