Polio Campaign dates revealed in meeting presided by Azra Pechuho

KARACHI: Azra Fazal Pechuho, Minister for Health and Population Welfare of Sindh, and Sohail Rajput, Chief Secretary of Sindh, presided over the meeting about the impending Polio Vaccine Campaign.

The campaign will begin on Monday, the 24th of October, and run until Sunday, the 30th of October, 2022, covering all 6.5 million children in the province.

In addition to the commissioners of Karachi and Larkana, representatives of the EOC, Sindh, UNICEF, and WHO were present at the conference.

The meeting was informed that in 2020, eleven environmental samples of polio were discovered and that in 2022, twenty instances of polio had been identified in KP.

Despite nationwide anti-polio campaigns, environmental samples of polio's genetic clusters have been discovered. In August, a polio virus environmental sample was discovered in Malir, Karachi. The genetic structure of the environmental sample and the 20 cases of polio in KP were identical.

Azra Fazal Pechuho, Sindh's Minister for Health and Population Welfare, stated that the greatest difficulty at present, in light of the floods, is to reach every child and vaccinate them against polio.

She noted that a sufficient micro plan must be developed for flood-affected areas, and locations, where water is still present will need to use boats to provide polio vaccines to children in need of vaccination.

Azra Pechuho stated that similar attention must be paid to children in IDP camps, and they must be assured that they are vaccinated against polio. All incoming transportation entering the province should be checked, and all children of vaccination age should be vaccinated against polio. She stated that all access points into Sindh must be watched during winter due to the influx of tourists.

Mr Sohail Rajput stated that Sindh had not recorded any polio cases in the previous two years. Parents who refuse to vaccinate their children against polio will be persuaded of the vaccine's necessity and benefits.

The audience was also informed that 5,314 youngsters in Karachi consistently refuse the polio vaccine and that these instances require special attention.

Azra Fazal Pechuho noted that on World Polio Day on the 24th of October, there would be various related events.