Murad vows to make Sindh polio-free by end of 2020

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Friday expressed displeasure over the emergence of fourteen polio cases in the province this year.

He directed the health department to launch a anti-polio campaign afresh with a new strategy and vigour by involving UC councilors, members of provincial assembly of different parties. He issued directives for administering polio drops to every person at transit points such as Jacobabad, Mochko post and Karachi Toll Plaza.

Chairing a meeting of the Provincial Taskforce for Polio Eradication, he vowed to eradicate the crippling disease from the province by the end of 2020.

Murad Ali Shah said that the emergence of 14 cases in the province in 2019 has undone all the efforts the provincial government has taken so far.

“We had 30 cases in 2014 and after that the provincial government with its effective campaign controlled the situation and the cases started declining,” he said.

CM Sindh also said there were 14 cases in 2015, eight cases in 2016, two cases in 2017 and one case  in 2018.

“In 2019, we are back to square one,” he said.

CM Sindh Murad Ali Shah was told that out of a total of 14 polio cases detected thus far in 2019, six were detected in Karachi and eight in other divisions of the province.

He observed the cases detected from Karachi were among those children who originally belonged to Balochistan and KPK.