Out of 85,000: 34,000 cases of polio drops refusal reported in Karachi, says Kamal

KARACHI: Federal Health Minister Syed Mustafa Kamal said on Sunday that there is no valid justification to refuse polio drops to eligible children in Pakistan, especially when the Taliban regime in neighbouring Afghanistan is supervising a door-to-door anti-polio immunisation drive.

The minister disclosed that 85,000 people in Pakistan refused polio vaccination for their children, including 34,000 in Karachi. Of these, 27,000 refusals were reported in Karachi’s District East alone.

He was talking to media persons after he, along with Karachi-based legislators of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan, visited the offices of polio immunisation campaign in Karachi, ahead of the launch of a new polio vaccination drive in the country from April 21.

The minister said the forthcoming immunisation drive would be launched simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan -- the two neighbouring countries in the world where polio cases are still being reported. He told media persons that religious scholars in Pakistan issued religious decrees in favour of polio vaccination.

Kamal told media persons that 415,000 personnel would be engaged in the upcoming vaccination drive in Pakistan. He appealed to the people to lend their support to the staff conducting anti-polio drive. The minister assured concerned quarters that polio vaccine does not have any harmful effects on the health of children.

He said crippling effect of poliovirus cause irreparable harm to health of affected children. He said there was no treatment for poliovirus infection other than administering polio drops.

The minister told journalists that lawmakers from Karachi accompanied him in his visit to the centre of the polio immunisation campaign to reassure their fullest support to the upcoming anti-polio drive.

He said administering of polio drops was necessary to safeguard the health and well-being of coming generations because poliovirus was prevalent in Pakistan’s environment.