(source : ANI) ( Photo Credit : ani)
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah is cracking down hard on polio after two new cases popped up in Pakistan’s Sindh province this month. He’s suspended the district health officers in Badin and Keamari districts and slapped disciplinary actions on the deputy commissioners of Badin and Thatta. He also fired assistant commissioners in Matli and Mirpur Sakro for dropping the ball on their jobs.
During a key meeting on polio eradication at the Chief Minister’s House in Karachi on Tuesday, Shah didn’t hold back. “Polio is a crippling disease, and wiping it out is everyone’s national responsibility,” he said. “We won’t put up with any slip-ups.” The gathering included Health Minister Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, and top health officials like Emergency Operation Centre Coordinator Irshad Sodhar.
These latest polio cases all came from the Hyderabad Division, shining a spotlight on ongoing challenges in the region. Even with vaccination drives hitting over 98% coverage lately, the virus keeps hitting vulnerable kids, leaving them paralyzed. So far this year, Sindh has seen nine polio cases: three in Badin, two in Thatta, and one each in Hyderabad, Larkana, Kambar, and Umerkot.
Shah got the green light from the chief secretary to make these tough calls on suspensions and removals. “Our campaigns are getting to most families, but ending polio means safeguarding every single child,” he stressed. Health Minister Pechuho chimed in, calling the virus a sneaky foe that sneaks through the tiniest weak spots. She’s pushing a smarter strategy to hunt down and vaccinate kids who get missed.
To fight back, Shah told the Sindh Health Department and the Emergency Operation Centre to kick off an intense new push in the polio eradication drive. Pakistan has cut down on cases compared to last year, but tough spots remain—especially after about 4,500 children slipped through the cracks in September’s campaign. Environmental tests show the virus lurking in 81% of Sindh’s samples, and all 12 surveillance spots in Karachi are turning up positive. Recent cases in Badin and Umerkot tie back to hard-to-reach migrant and mobile groups.
Looking ahead, Shah wants a full plan for the final stretch of 2025. He’s calling for two big vaccination campaigns in October and December, plus a targeted Fractional Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) effort in Karachi and a joint measles-polio drive in November. In high-risk areas, teams will roll out mop-up operations with oral polio vaccine (OPV) and IPV boosters. There’s also a major hunt underway to track and immunize those missed kids from the last round.
Shah emphasized building stronger ties with community leaders and local doctors to cut down on vaccine refusals. “The road to a polio-free Sindh is right there—we’ve got the blueprint, the tools, and the drive,” he said. “Now, we’re sending top teams to the riskiest districts to make sure we reach every doorstep and every child. This last big effort needs buy-in from parents and leaders everywhere to win.”
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