Sindh Caretaker Health Minister, Dr. Saad Khalid Niaz, Monday, inaugurated 7-day anti-polio campaign by administering polio drops to children at Urban Health Center Landhi Karachi. Over 10.3 million children under 5 years of age will be vaccinated against poliovirus During the ongoing campaign that will be carried out in all 30 districts of Sindh from January 8 to 14. Around 37,000 vaccination teams will perform their duties while 4,225 security personnel will be deployed for the security of the polio teams.
Dr. Saad Khalid Niaz while speaking at the occasion said that Polio virus has been detected in 13 environmental samples obtained from 28 places in Sindh while two children of UC Gujru District East Karachi were infected with poliovirus in the previous year. According to National Emergency Operation Center, the results of all the environmental samples found so far had links to Afghanistan, he said and urged on the need for a coordinated and comprehensive strategy at the federal level to deal with the situation.
He said that Polio had been eradicated from the entire world except Afghanistan and Pakistan and we are determined to eradicate the deadly disease from the country. Stressing the collective role of all the citizens particularly parents and teachers the minister appealed to the parents to ensure vaccination of their children against polio. School and hospital administrations should fully cooperate with polio workers because only collective effort can win the fight against the dangerous disease, he added. Dr. Niaz said that during the campaign, EPI teams will be available at vaccination points in various health centers, hospitals and other areas for providing vaccination against 12 different deadly diseases and polio drops will also be administered there so that those who missed the polio shots could be administered the anti-polio vaccine.
If any child misses the polio drop, parents and teachers should report on helpline number 1166 and our team will reach your home, school or seminary, he said adding that we all have to fight the disease together to ensure a healthy future for our children. Responding to a question about MDCAT, the minister informed that FIAs cyber crime cell was looking into the details of the MDCAT paper leak issue and it is hoped that a final decision will be reached soon. On a question regarding the new variant of COVID, the Caretaker Health Minister said that he visited the airport to inspect the surveillance process. As per NCOCs advisory, two per cent random checking was being done and passengers diagnosed with COVID had been sent back home for quarantine after necessary tests, he added.
