Anti-polio campaign kicks off in Sukkur, Larkana

SUKKUR: The five-day polio eradication campaign kicked off on Monday focusing over 3.7 million children in Sukkur, Khairpur, Shikarpur, Ghotki, Nausharoferoz and other cities of the Larkana and Sukkur districts.

The Divisional Commissioner, Sukkur, Manzoor Ali Shaikh, presided over a meeting of the Task Force for Polio attended by the deputy commissioners, DHOs, representatives of UNICEF and other stake holders. Shaikh directed them to ensure meeting the 100 per cent target of polio vaccination. He directed the field officers to inform the respective deputy commissioners in case families refuse polio vaccination to their children. The commissioner also directed all the stake holders, officials of the district and health management to supervise and monitor the vaccination. The SSPs of respective districts assured the vaccination teams of foolproof security.

In 2017, eight polio cases were reported from Sindh rattling the authorities. But, so far fortunately no case has surfaced in the province in 2018.Meanwhile, the villagers of Hond Ali Shar of Thari-Mirwah town in Khairpur refused to get their children vaccinated.

The villagers Munir Ahmed Shar, Mansoor Ahmed, Abdul Karim Shar and others protested that they had repeatedly complained to the district authorities against massive air pollution caused by Hyder Shah and Al-Madina Cotton Factory but they were ignored. Abdul Karim Shar charged that the aerial discharge from both the factories is so harmful that it is causing asthma and other respiratory ailments besides severe lungs infection. The villagers accused the mill owners of refusing to install appropriate filters to prevent harmful discharge from polluting the environment and causing disease.

Munir Ahmed Shar said they are not against vaccination but were forced to take action against the vaccination team to attract the attention of the district management to pay attention to their complaints against the cotton factories. The Assistant Commissioner told the villagers that he visited the factories and directed the mangement of the mills to take necessary action and warned of sealing their units in case of failure to do so.