Sindh Chief Minister directs health department to make anti polio drive more vigorous

Karachi, April 16, 2015 (PPI-OT): Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah has said that during the first three months of 2015 detection of four polio cases in Sindh has become a grave challenge for the government. “I am committed with the soul of my leaders Shaheed Benazir Bhutto, my party and children of my province to make Sindh a polio- free province.”

This he said while presiding over a polio review meeting here at CM House today. Aseefa Bhutto Zardari specially attended the meeting as she has been the ambassador on Polio Eradication. The other participants were MNA Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho Chairperson All Provincial Public Health Programs, Ms Shahnaz Wazir Ali Provincial Coordinator, Secretary Health Iftikhar Shalwani and Principal Secretary to CM Alamuddin Bullo.

Dr Azra Pechuho told the chief Minister that in 2013 there were 93 polio cases in the country, of them 10 were in Sindh. In 2014 the cases increased to 306 of them 30 were in Sindh and now in the first three months of 2015 21 cases have been detected all over Pakistan and of them four cases belong to Sindh.

The chief minister pointed out that all these four cases have been detected in areas of rural Sindh. “This is not good omen. We have to be more alert and have to expand our immunization sphere,” he asserted.
She further said that in Kambar a polio conform cases has been detected in an 18-month old baby and other cases appeared in Sukkur again in an 18-month old baby and two cases were detected in Dadu.

Aseefa Bhutto Zardari said that it was a dream of Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto to purge Pakistan of polio disease and it was she who started polio as nation campaign. “Sindh government should ensure to reach each and every child to administer polio drops. Apart from it polio team must be provided necessary security so that they can reach to each and every area,” he advised.

The chief minister told Aseefa Bhutto Zardari that he has already dedicated a separate polio force. “When anti-polio campaign is launched they are also given extra security particularly in high risk areas,” he said. The chief minister reiterated his commitment to eradicate polio from Sindh.

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