A key meeting was held on Thursday to finalize preparations for the upcoming anti-polio campaign in Sindh, co-chaired by Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah and Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho. The session saw the participation of Commissioner Karachi, the Secretaries of Health and Transport, along with representatives from the police, WHO, UNICEF, and Sindh’s Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Coordinator, Irshad Ali Sodhar.
Commissioners and deputy commissioners from across the province joined via video link. The meeting confirmed that the campaign will run from 9th to 15th September across 30 districts of Sindh. In this drive, 9.4 million children will be given polio vaccines. EOC Coordinator Irshad Ali Sodhar provided a briefing, assuring that the training for the campaign staff has been completed. He also shared that, in collaboration with the district administration, bus terminals in Karachi have been mapped. Special teams, in cooperation with the Sindh Transport Department, will be deployed at the Sohrab Goth Bus Terminal, where 150 buses depart daily, to ensure children are vaccinated. Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho emphasized that children arriving from other provinces, particularly from Afghanistan, must be administered polio drops at all railway stations and bus terminals. She urged all District
Health Officers (DHO), Deputy Commissioners (DC), partner organizations, polio staff, and EPI staff to ensure that every child is vaccinated properly. “We need to put in extra effort to start cleaning the environment from the virus, and this can only be achieved through joint efforts from everyone involved. The responsibility of eradicating polio lies with all of us,” said Dr. Pechuho. Chief Secretary Sindh Syed Asif Hyder Shah expressed his strong commitment to the campaign, stating, “We must demonstrate our true commitment to polio eradication, and I will personally be in the field to show my support for the polio teams. I expect the same level of commitment from all field officers and stakeholders.”
He assured full support from the Sindh government and directed all relevant departments to play a proactive role in ensuring the campaign’s success. Chief Secretary Shah also expressed his personal dedication to overseeing the campaign’s progress on the ground. Sindh Government is fully committed to eliminating polio from the province, and this campaign marks another significant step toward achieving that goal.
