KARACHI   -   Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, taking serious notice of the refusal cases during the ongoing 10-day polio eradication drive, said that there was no provision for refusal and urged parents to cooperate in eradicating the crippling disease from the province and the country.

Murad Shah directed the health department to make the polio-eradication campaign more effective. ‘I would not accept any type of refusal from the parents,’ he said and added that he had issued strict instructions to the district administration and the police to deal with the refusal cases.

‘Throughout the world, even smaller and less developed countries have got rid of polio but we, Pakistan, and Afghanistan, are still rearing the virus by refusing to administer polio drops to their children,’ he said and added, ‘enough is enough, we would not allow any parent to refuse giving polio drops to their children.’

“We understand that this is a sensitive issue. There are certain prejudices, misunderstandings and taboos associated with the administration of polio,” he admitted and assured that while the government is spreading awareness, he urged the parents to trust that the Sindh government would take great care children of this nation. “We want a polio-free Pakistan and the government of Sindh would play a parental role,” the premier of the province said.

Murad Shah launched a 10-day vital anti-polio campaign on August 14 with the slogan ‘Get rid of polio.’

The chief minister said that a special anti-polio campaign has been launched in 85 union councils of the city targeting over 1.1 million children under five to receive oral polio vaccine drops. Under the campaign, 1,037,000 children (ages four months to five years) would receive fractional inactivated polio vaccine (f-IPV) injections. The CM has strongly directed the administration and health department to make the campaign successful, achieve the target, and report to him.