Entry points, vulnerable areas: Qaim for administering polio vaccines to IDPs

Chief Minister Sindh, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, has directed the officials concerned to ensure administration of polio vaccine to Internally Displaced families of North Waziristan at entry points of the province. He also directed to conduct intensive anti-polio campaign especially in vulnerable areas of Karachi, simultaneously, to prevent spread of the crippling disease.
Presiding over a meeting, held here on Wednesday to evolve anti-polio strategy, the CM Sindh said that many displaced families were moving from North Waziristan to the settled areas of the country including Sindh with unvaccinated children that could pose health threats to the residents of hosting areas.
He said that strict checking has been ordered at all entry points and cities in the province to ensure that neither children of IDPs and others could pass without taking anti-polio drops nor terrorists could enter in the province by posing themselves as IDPs.
He said that provincial health department and national and international organisations working for the Polio eradication should avail this facility and fully concentrate specially on the IDPs influx, their possible hosting localities and ensure that their each child up to 5 years of age is vaccinated.
The CM directed for establishing Polio control rooms at each district and keeping close co-ordination with concerned organisations and asked the district administration for registration of IDPs and collecting data of their children and family status in case of their arrival in the district.
The CM also directed for establishment of provincial emergency operations centers for Polio eradication and making it functional as soon as possible. He also directed Sindh Police to provide full security to the Polio teams, engaged in field work. The Co-ordinator of Polio over sight committee, Shahnaz Wazir Ali, briefing the meeting told that this year seven Polio cases have emerged, all reported from Karachi, and all belongs to Pakhtuns families except one who belongs to Punjabi family. She said that the union councils, where polio cases emerged, have been kept on top priority and special attention was being made on those vulnerable areas.
Dr Ahmed Ali Shaikh provincial focal person for polio informed the meeting that two anti-Polio campaign rounds, from July 5 to 8 and from 17 to 20 July would be conducted in Karachi to vaccinate 153,564 children in each round. Besides, total 194 Anti-Polio teams have been deployed at all transit points in the province including border of Sindh. He said that form April 2012 to April 2014; as many as 5,828,520 children have been vaccinated at all transit points in Sindh and 2,64,129 children at transit points in Karachi.-PR