KARACHI, July 17: The anti-polio campaign, which was suspended in a part of Gadap Town on Tuesday following a gun attack on the vehicle of a doctor associated with the World Health Organisation there, will resume on Wednesday amid tight security, said a senior government official.

In a communication, WHO Chief Coordinator for Polio Eradication in Pakistan Dr Elias Durray said the incident would not distract Pakistan from the progress it was making this year, as the country was closer than ever to eradication of polio.

Sindh Health Minister Dr Sagheer Ahmad earlier said that targeting the WHO consultant in UC-4 of Gadap was an attempt to disrupt the ongoing polio campaign. “The elements involved in the incident wanted to foil the anti-polio campaign,” he said. But the Sindh government and its thousands of field workers as well as medical officers and local and international monitors were determined to continue their efforts, he added.

Earlier on Monday, the first day of the drive, some hindrance in the immunisation efforts was reported in certain parts of Gadap’s UC-4. The locality inhabited by a multi-ethnic population is considered as one of the high-risk polio areas of Karachi.

Speaking to Dawn, Malir Deputy Commissioner Jan Mohammad Qazi said vaccination had to be put on hold for some time on Tuesday. But it would resume as usual on Wednesday as security was being beefed up in the entire Gadap and Malir areas, he added.

According to him, certain tribes from northern parts of the country wanted to cause disturbance and terrify field workers, parents and health personnel, but the indomitable administration would ensure that all local children up to the age of five years were administered drops of the vaccine.

The deputy commissioner said police would provide security cover to vaccinators, their supervisors and monitors on a priority basis.

A couple of campaign mobilisers and officials confided to Dawn that they were being threatened for conducting the anti-polio campaign in some parts of Gadap and Gulshan-i-Iqbal for quite some time.

Meanwhile, Dr Durray said the WHO was grateful to the Pakistani medical professionals for the rapid and high-quality medical aid they provided to the wounded men. He added that both men worked for the WHO and supported the ongoing polio immunisation activities, and they were in stable condition.“At this point, there is no evidence to suggest that there was a deliberate or targeted attack against polio eradication efforts or WHO,” he said.

The WHO chief coordinator for polio eradication in Pakistan said the WHO, the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund and polio partners remained committed to supporting the Pakistan government and the people of Pakistan in their efforts to eradicate polio.

He reiterated that the Gadap incident would not distract Pakistan from the progress it was making this year.

‘Polio-free Sindh by next year’ The menace of polio would be eradicated from Sindh hopefully by the next year, said Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah while talking to a 15-member delegation of Rotary polio team from the United States at the Chief Minister’s House, adds APP.

According to a statement issued following the meeting, the chief minister said the situation had improved in the province as concerted efforts were being made to eradicate polio. He added that President Asif Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf had been holding regular meetings in that regard. He also announced a grant of Rs200 million on behalf of the Sindh government for the project of polio eradication.

Ambassador for anti-polio drive in Pakistan Aseefa Bhutto Zardari expressed her firm resolve that the menace of polio would be eradicated from Pakistan. She underlined the need for coordination, concentration and cooperation for the purpose and stressed making the programme a success.

Member of the national task force for polio eradication Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho briefed the participants in the meeting about the targets set for the three-day polio immunisation drive.

She said in all 21,385 teams of vaccinators had been constituted to administer polio drops to 7,498,143 children, including 2,284,956 children in Karachi alone.

She said 4,138 motorcycles and 1,153 others vehicles had been deployed in 23 districts of Sindh for the campaign.

The meeting was attended among others by Jonathan David Faerris, Robert Leepee, Byron Miller, Ahmed Azmy, Mrs Nadia Azmy, Serge Poulin, Dino Marzaro, Maro Drocim, Aslam Khalika, Munib Khan, Faiz Kidvai, Iqbal Qureshi, Aziz Memon, Aftab Khatri and Mohammad Siddique Memon.