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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Monday launched a seven-day anti-polio campaign across the province.
The drive will continue from September 21 to 27. It targets nearly 10 million children under five across all 30 districts.
Health teams will conduct full campaigns in 23 districts. Seven other districts will receive partial coverage based on programme requirements.
Speaking at the launch ceremony in Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Shah said Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the only countries where wild poliovirus continues to circulate.
Pakistan recorded 31 polio cases in 2025, while Afghanistan reported 21, according to figures cited by the chief minister. Pakistan has reported four cases so far in 2026, including one in Sujawal and three in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Afghanistan has reported 29 cases.
The Sindh anti-polio campaign will involve more than 80,000 trained vaccinators, social mobilisers and supervisors.
Teams will visit homes to administer oral polio drops to eligible children.
More than 26,000 police personnel will also provide security during the campaign. The deployment includes around 2,300 female constables.
Shah urged parents to cooperate with vaccination teams and ensure that every child under five receives the vaccine during the campaign.
He said progress against polio has improved but warned that the threat has not disappeared.
“There is no room for complacency in the fight against polio,” Shah said.
The chief minister also described polio eradication as a shared responsibility involving the government, parents, communities and development partners.
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Sindh has also recorded improvement in environmental surveillance.
Shah said the positivity rate fell to 20 per cent in August from 62 per cent earlier in 2026.
Six positive environmental samples were detected in August. Four came from Karachi Division, while two came from Hyderabad Division.
Sindh reported one polio case in 2026 before the current campaign. Officials have linked the decline in cases to vaccination, surveillance and community engagement efforts.
However, health authorities continue to detect poliovirus in environmental samples. Officials therefore say vaccination efforts must continue until transmission stops.
During the launch, Shah visited the prosthetics unit at the Rotary Club Community Centre.
The facility provides artificial limbs, callipers and rehabilitation support to children affected by polio.
The chief minister also met Huma, a polio survivor who lost the use of both legs.
Officials briefed him on Rotary International’s support for her rehabilitation and prosthetic legs.
Shah said he prefers to personally inaugurate polio campaigns to demonstrate the provincial government’s commitment to eradication.
He also acknowledged the support of the Gates Foundation, UNICEF, Rotary International and other national and international partners.
The provincial government has urged parents to make sure their children receive polio drops during every campaign, regardless of whether they received previous doses.
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