KARACHI: A case response-based polio immunisation campaign in 23 union councils of Karachi and four of Larkana, under the Sub-National Immunisation scheme, began on Monday with 260,000 under-five children to be administered oral polio vaccine during the week-long exercise.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho opening the exercise, which resumed after a considerable gap due to the Covid-19 pandemic, at a healthcare facility here on Monday, assured healthcare providers of every possible support, including ready availability of masks, gloves and sanitisers besides security cover to them.

Appreciative of the Pakistan Rangers-Sindh and the provincial police department, the minister said the personnel provided by the two agencies to the teams comprising vaccinators and volunteers was important to restore the confidence of the workers, mainly pertaining to the lady health workers programme.

Dr Pechuho, accompanied by Sindh Secretary for Health Kazim Jatoi and Emergency Operation Centre coordinator Dr Fayyaz Abbasi, also appealed to the people to support the government in its efforts to protect their kids against the crippling disease.

“This is something crucial for the life quality of our children, who are our future. Hence coordinated efforts are needed,” she said while thanking the Pakistan Paediatric Association for extending its support for the cause.

Parts of Baldia Town, North Nazimabad, Liaquatabad and Orangi Town, with confirmed presence of the poliovirus in the environment, are being covered on a priority basis during the current campaign, said a senior official associated with the Expanded Programme on Immunisation.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2020