Nationwide anti-polio drive kicks off today

A week-long anti-polio campaign will begin across the country on Monday (today), Radio Pakistan reported. During the campaign, 45 million children under the age of five will be administered anti-polio vaccine. The health workers will go door-to-door in both urban and remote areas to administer anti-polio vaccine and Vitamin A supplements to the children. First Lady Bibi Aseefa Bhutto Zardari has called on families and communities across Pakistan to fully cooperate with the nationwide polio vaccination campaign starting tomorrow to ensure that every child is protected from the disease. In a statement, she highlighted the progress of previous campaigns and said that 31 polio cases were reported last year, while only one case has been recorded this year so far. Aseefa said, however, the threat of disease still remains and stressed for repeated vaccination in every campaign and routine immunization. She further said that the current drive is being carried out in coordination with Afghanistan to curb cross-border transmission. The First Lady also appreciated frontline workers and called for collective efforts to achieve a polio-free Pakistan, emphasizing that no child should be left behind. The weeklong campaign will vaccinate over 45 million children under five across the country. The health workers will go door-to-door in both urban and remote areas for the purpose and will also administer Vitamin A supplements to the children. In Feb, as reports emerged that around a million children were missed during the year's first nationwide polio campaign, Karachi stood out among the cities with most number of refusal cases. A total of 53,000 refusals were reported from across the country, with 58 per cent reported from Karachi alone, during the vaccination drive, which concluded on Feb 5 in most cities but ran till Feb 8 in Sindh.