Murad suspends 2 DHOs, removes two ACs due to poor performance in polio eradication campaign

KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has suspended and removed health and administrative officials over poor performance during ant-polio drive across the province, ARY News reported.

As per details, Murad Ali Shah placed the services of two District Health Officers, Badin and Keamari, under suspension, issued disciplinary notices to the Deputy Commissioners of Badin and Thatta and removed Assistant Commissioners Matli and Mirpur Sakro.

“Polio is a debilitating disease, and its eradication is our national duty, which everyone must perform diligently. Negligence will not be tolerated,” Murad Ali Shah said while presiding over a meeting on polio eradication at the CM House here on Tuesday.

The meeting was attended by Minister of Health Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Secretary to the CM Raheem Shaikh, Secretary of Health Rehan Baloch, Coordinator EOC Irshad Sodhar, and other concerned officials.

The chief minister said that the new cases, one each from Hyderabad, Badin, and Thatta – all within the Hyderabad Division – highlight a critical reality. The health minister added that despite achieving over 98 per cent coverage in recent vaccination drives, the virus continues to find and paralyse vulnerable children.

The chief minister was also informed that nine polio cases had been detected in the province, including three in Badin, two in Thatta, and one each in Hyderabad, Larkano, Kambar, and Umerkot.

In response, the chief minister, expressing displeasure, ordered the suspension of two District Health Officers, Dr Anjum Ali Soomro of Badin and Dr Wali Muhammad Rahimoon of Keamari, and issued disciplinary notices to the Deputy Commissioners of Badin and Keamari. He also removed Assistant Commissioners of Matli and Mirpur Sakro due to their poor performance in the polio eradication effort. Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah approved these notifications.

“Our campaigns are reaching the majority, but polio eradication is about protecting every last child,” stated Murad Shah. Minister of Health Dr Azra mentioned the virus was a ruthless opportunist exploiting the smallest gaps, and that the strategy was shifting to systematically find and protect missed children.

The chief minister directed the Sindh Health Department and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) to launch an aggressive new phase of the polio eradication campaign following the detection of three new cases in September.

Pakistan has seen a significant reduction in polio cases compared to 2024. The provincial government, through the Health Department, is confronting stubborn challenges that keep the virus circulating in the province, he said.

The September campaign left a critical gap: approximately 4,500 children refused.

It was also pointed out that 81 per cent of Sindh’s environmental samples test positive for the virus, with all 12 sites in Karachi consistently testing positive. Recent cases in Badin and Umerkot are linked to mobile and migrant populations, who are often hard to reach with static health services.

Murad Ali Shah instructed the health department to unveil a comprehensive plan for the last quarter of 2025. “I want two large-scale campaigns to be planned for October and December, supported by a focused Fractional Inactivated Polio Vaccine campaign (fIPV) in Karachi and a combined Measles-Polio campaign in November,” he said.

Mr Shah directed immediate mop-up vaccinations with Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV), supplemented with Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) boosters, which are reportedly underway in areas where recent cases have been identified.

The CM also announced that a major operation would be launched to track and vaccinate children missed during the September campaign.