KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday directed the health department to step up efforts in Karachi and Hyderabad to vaccinate over 237,000 remaining children who have missed polio doses.

He issued fresh directives to ensure that no child was left vulnerable to the virus. “Eradicating polio requires a joint effort by parents, society, the media and government. If we all work together, we can save our children from paralysis and secure a healthier future for Pakistan,” he said.

Reviewing a detailed report presented by the Provincial Emergency Operations Centre (PEOC) on the anti-polio campaign from Feb 2 to 8 at the Chief Minister House, he instructed the PEOC to prioritise follow-up activities for “zero-dose” children to strengthen their immunity.

According to a press statement issued by the CM House, Mr Shah noted that overall administrative coverage stood at 100 per cent, while house-to-house coverage remained strong at 99pc across the province, with recall coverage recorded at 94pc.

Despite these encouraging figures, the report identified approximately 237,216 children who were “still missed” (2.6pc), primarily in the Karachi and Hyderabad divisions.

Karachi Division recorded 100pc administrative coverage, with 97pc door-to-door coverage and a 4.6pc rate of “missed children”, while Hyderabad Division achieved 99pc administrative and door-to-door coverage, with 2.4pc “missed children”.

Mirpurkhas and Sukkur divisions recorded a missed rate of 2pc.

Published in Dawn, February 12th, 2026