KARACHI:Minister for Health and Population Welfare, Sindh, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho on Thursday attended a Polio Progress Review Conference by the World Health Organization.

The conference was attended by representatives of WHO, National EOC, Provincial EOC of Sindh as well as members of the EPI Sindh. The meeting was informed that the last case of Polio was reported in 2020 and that it will be nearly two years that Pakistan has been Polio free. Efforts to maintain this status must not decline and special focus must be directed towards missed children and refusals.

Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho said that Sindh has been blessed that deaths due to covid have declined and that 90% of the population has been fully vaccinated – we need the same zeal and vigour being applied to polio. The covid door to door campaign was a significant resource that allowed for cases of covid to decline for us to have reached a point where covid is not such an immediate threat, however there may be chances of a new wave.

The Minister for Health, Sindh, added that ‘the whole of Pakistan has been polio free since 2020, however missed children and high-risk pockets in the province are a threat to Sindh and Pakistan. Dr. Azra informed the meeting that there are currently pilot projects in high-risk areas that are operating birth registries – something that will be expanded to all of Sindh – which will among other benefits, serve to ensure that no child misses their vaccines and inoculations.

Monthly meetings with DHOs and DCs have also pushed for progress and accountability in Polio Campaigns throughout the province and there has been a 50% decrease in missed children in 2022 as compared to 2021. It was also a general consensus in the meeting that despite there being some political turmoil in the country at the moment, that cannot be allowed to effect the progress that has been made in the polio campaigns.