DCs to work with local officials, global partners to ensure success of anti-polio drive

The commissioner of Karachi, Muhammad Salim Rajput, led a meeting at the Emergency Operation Centre office on Friday to review the preparations for the anti-polio campaign starting on Monday.

All deputy commissioners briefed the commissioner about the arrangements and objectives of the campaign in their districts via a web link. They discussed making special arrangements to vaccinate children who had been refused vaccination in high-risk union committees of the city.

The meeting was attended by the coordinator of the Emergency Operation Center, Arshad Soomro, the head of UNICEF in Pakistan, Melissa Corkum, senior police and Sindh health department officials, representatives from the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.

Several crucial decisions were made during the meeting to ensure the success of the campaign and to eradicate the poliovirus from Karachi. It was decided to update the micro-plan every month. The deputy commissioners will work with the health department officials, union committee medical officers, polio teams, and global partners to prepare their districts’ micro-plan.

The commissioner emphasized strengthening coordination between union committees’ medical officers and polio teams, ensuring robust communication. He stressed constituting special teams for children who had missed polio drops to prevent them from being deprived of vaccination. Initiatives were also discussed to initiate an SMS service to connect with parents and the community, raising awareness about the benefits and importance of vaccination.

Deputy Commissioner South Altaf Sario briefed the meeting about the South district’s SMS service campaign. It was decided to form special teams to effectively operate the campaign in high-risk areas. Police forces will be assigned for the protection of polio teams. It was decided that daily meetings would be held at the deputy commissioner’s office before the campaign started.

The meeting focused on ensuring effective collaboration between the police force, health department, and union councils for the success of the vaccination campaign against polio in Karachi.