Nation wide anti-polio campaign launched

KARACHI: An anti-polio campaign is beginning on Monday across the Sindh province and will last till November 3, with the goal of eradicating the disease with mass vaccinations.

Vaccination workers will be going door to door to administer the drops to children up to five years old. Over 45 million children will be vaccinated.

SINDH

The campaign is seeking to administer polio vaccinations to over 10 million children in Sindh, an effort to eliminate the disease in light of the 41 cases reported across the country this year. Out of the 41, 12 cases have been reported in Sindh, 21 from Balochistan, six from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one in both Islamabad and Punjab.

Wild poliovirus type 1 has been detected in sewage samples collected from 16 districts the country, including Lahore, Dera Ghazi Khan, Badin, Sukkur, Chaman, Shaheed Benazirabad, Hyderabad, Karachi West, Karachi Keamari, Sujawal, Dadu, Kambar, Karachi East, Jacobabad, Peshawar, and Islamabad.

“National emergency action plan” launched to combat polio

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA

The campaign is also taking place in Peshawar on Monday. The goal is to administer vaccinations across 33 districts in KPK, including the aforementioned Peshawar, as well as Mardan, Kohat, Bannu, North Waziristan, South Waziristan Upper, South Waziristan Lower, Hazara, and Malakand.

SECURITY FOR VACCINATION WORKERS

81,000 workers will be administering the vaccinations, and will be accompanied by 19,000 security personnel due to the violence against vaccination workers in the country. Just last month, polio workers were the victims of attacks, with one male worker being killed in a shooting by unidentified attackers on a polio vaccination team in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while a female worker was violently beaten in Lahore on the same day. Earlier in September a female worker was abducted by two armed men and raped.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif stated “together, we must fight this battle with unity and determination until we secure a polio-free Pakistan,” while Ayesha RazaFarooq, the PM’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication added that “under the Prime Minister’s guidance, we are re-energized in our efforts to combat polio. Starting October 28, our polio workers will reach every corner of Pakistan, delivering the vaccine and securing a healthier future for our children.”

Polio crisis: Pakistan reports 41st case of the virus