KARACHI: More than 5,000 police personnel were deployed across Karachi to facilitate a four-day anti-polio campaign that kicked off on Monday.

According to health department officials, around 2.2 million children will be reached in the city during the campaign being carried out with the help of 6,300 teams.

The city has reported one polio case within the past six weeks.

The campaign has also been launched in Hyderabad, Jamshoro, Dadu, Sanghar, Shaheed Benazirabad, Naushahro Feroz, Khairpur, Sukkur, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Jacobabad, Kashmore, Qambar-Shahdadkot and Larkana districts.

Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad administered polio drops to a few children at a ceremony held at the Hilal-i-Ahmer Hospital in Clifton to launch the campaign. Speaking at the ceremony, he called for a better coordination to ensure 100 per cent coverage.

Women workers engaged in the campaign had been hired from within the local communities to ensure that each and every child, especially those belonging to the vulnerable communities, was vaccinated.

“These workers are also helping in dispelling misconceptions and addressing reservations over the vaccination drive as they have better reach and access within their communities,” he noted, and said that security was being provided to workers according to the needs and requirements of different areas.

In reply to a question relating to refusal cases, he said such cases and resistance to the vaccination had considerably decreased as most parents had now realised that the vaccination was necessary to protect their children from a life-long disability.

“Reservations over the efficacy of the polio vaccine are being looked into,” he said when asked about children contracting the the poliovirus despite having received the vaccination.

The governor urged parents to realise their responsibility and play their role in creating awareness of the benefits of vaccination.

“Eradication of polio from our country is essential because we face a constant threat of travel restrictions,” he said.Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries left in the world that have failed to stop transmission of poliovirus.

HYDERABAD: A meeting held under the chairmanship of Hyderabad Commissioner Qazi Shahid Pervez discussed arrangements for the anti-polio drive launched in Hyderabad district on Monday.

The commissioner was informed that there were around 800 cases in the district where parents refused to get their children vaccinated. He urged such parents to realise the importance of anti-polio vaccination of under-five children as this would help protect them from the crippling disease.

The meeting was informed that 310,599 children were being inoculated between Feb 15 and 17 in the district. A total of 964 teams have been formed for the purpose and they include 845 mobile teams.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2016