KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, presiding over a meeting regarding the eradication of polio, directed Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah to remove any deputy commissioner, senior superintendent of police (SSP), and District Health Officer (DHO) who are not actively contributing to the campaign.

The meeting was told that 50 polio cases were reported nationwide, with Sindh accounting for 13 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 11, Punjab with one, and Balochistan with 24 cases. In Sindh two cases each were reported in Hyderabad, Jacobabad, and Keamari, and one case each in Shikarpur, Karachi East (Gujro), Sujawal, Malir, Mirpurkhas, Sanghar, and Ghotki.

There are 10.6 million children under the age of five in the province. Additionally, 321,323 children have been recorded as migrating with their parents. Currently, 69 per cent of children are fully immunised.

In 2024, reports indicated that 66 per cent of samples collected from 20 districts across Sindh tested positive for environmental samples of the virus.

There were 43,227 refusal cases identified in various districts in October. Six district administrations performed poorly during the October 2024 campaign, including Jamshoro, Karachi Central, East, Malir, Kashmore, and Tharparkar.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024