KARACHI: The city administration announced that 865,000 children would be administered oral polio vaccine in a campaign being launched in 51 selected union councils of 14 towns on July 21, officials said on Thursday.

A meeting held at the Sindh government’s emergency operations centre (EOC) reviewed the arrangements for the polio drive.

Presided over by Karachi commissioner Ejaz Khan, the meeting was attended by EOC chief Azra Fazal Pechuho, health secretary Ahmed Bakhsh Narejo, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, representatives of Unicef and World Health Organisation, and senior officials of the polio task force, national emergency operations centre for polio, Islamabad, deputy commissioners of Karachi, police officers and health department and Rotary Club representatives.

The meeting was informed that the campaign would cover eight union councils in Baldia, six in Landhi, five each in Gadap, Orangi and SITE, four each in Gulshan and North Karachi, three each in Bin Qasim, Korangi and Keamari, two in North Nazimabad and one each in Saddar, Gulberg and Liaquatabad. The meeting was not satisfied with performance of the District Polio Control Rooms (DPCRs) which the participants observed had been inactive for quite some time. All the deputy commissioners had already been asked to hold DPCR meetings in their offices on a daily basis and send their reports to the commissioner’s office.

It was decided that the relevant officials would again meet next week before the launch of the polio drive to review a final security plan for polio teams.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2016