Eight-day polio eradication drive begins in Karachi

KARACHI: An eight-day polio eradication campaign was formally inaugurated at District West in Karachi.

Under this freshly initiated campaign, a total of 1.9 million children aged five or below would be vaccinated in all union councils of the District West.

The inauguration was performed by Deputy Commissioner (DC) West Shadia Jaffer who said that “the city administration was committed to playing its due role in order to eliminate poliovirus from the metropolis”.

She further said, “Polio eradication was a national cause and it would be the top priority of city administration.”

Shadia appreciated the role of international partners in polio eradication and hoped that Pakistan would be a polio-free country soon.

She added that no child should be missed, for any reason, from a vaccine-preventable disease and it was the duty of all stakeholders to make sure every child was given polio drops.

“We need to involve community maximum in anti-polio programmes and get their full support. Community support based strategy would be developed in this connection,” added DC Shadia.

She informed the media that all concerned departments had been asked to focus on refusal cases to get rid of this crippling disease and persuade the parents who refuse to get their children vaccinated.

Polio task force coordinator, officials of the Health Department, representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) were also present on the occasion.