KARACHI - Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi chaired a meeting regarding polio eradication held at his office. The meeting was attended among others by the Deputy Commissioner Shehzad Abbasi (East), Ahmed Ali Siddiqui (West), Masood Bhutto (Korangi), and Karachi Polio Task Force Coordinator Saud Yaqoob Khoso. Emergency Operation Centre Coordinator Irshad Sodhar and other deputy commissioners participated via video link.
The meeting was informed that the polio eradication campaign in Karachi will begin on October 28 and will last for a week, targeting over 2.7 million children under 5 years of age.
The Emergency OperationCentrer and deputy commissioners have completed arrangements for the campaign. To overcome challenges, the government has hired 400 independent monitors to identify and help resolve obstacles.
Special attention will be given to children who have missed polio vaccinations or are hesitant to receive them. Deputy commissioners will take special measures with the help of parents and community leaders to ensure all children are administered from polio drops. The commissioner emphasized ensuring all children receive polio drops. He was also briefed on children of government employees as well as employees of private organisations are avoiding polio vaccinations - a total of 6,148 children from private and government sectors have been identified. The meeting decided to extend access to children of private organizations and Provincial and federal government employees in Karachi through their offices.