CS urges 100pc registration, polio vaccination of newborns

Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Asif Hyder Shah on Thursday stressed achieving 100 per cent registration and routine immunisation of newborns to effectively combat the poliovirus.

During a meeting he chaired at the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), Shah highlighted that his first meeting as the CS marks his commitment to polio eradication, reminiscent of his proactive stance during his tenure as the Karachi commissioner.

He stressed the necessity of focusing on zero-dose children to ensure routine immunisation, calling for synergy between the polio programme and the Expanded Programme on Immunisation.

He affirmed the plans to increase the number of vaccinators and to enhance facilities for effective vaccination drives for children. He reiterated that until 100 per cent registration of newborns is achieved, the challenge of eradicating the poliovirus would persist.

EOC Sindh Coordinator Irshad Ali Sodhar highlighted during the meeting that Pakistan had reported six polio cases last year, two of them in Sindh and four in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The meeting was attended by all the major stakeholders, including Health Secretary Syed Mansoor Abbas Rizvi, and representatives of WHO, Unicef and National Stop Transmission of Polio, to discuss the overall status of the poliovirus and its prevention strategies.