HYDERABAD, July 10: Dr Mohammad Azmoudha of the World Health Organization has said that out of 19 polio cases reported from Pakistan nine pertain to the Sindh province.

He was speaking at a meeting of the polio eradication committee held under the chairmanship of District Nazim Dr Makhdoom Rafiquzzaman on Friday.

He said that polio cases found in Sindh include one each in Karachi, Nawabshah and Larkana, and two each in Jacobabad, Ghotki and Sanghar districts.

Dr Azmoudha lamented that it was an alarming situation.

He said that we must be vigilant on all areas of polio-free Hyderabad and its neighbouring districts till the polio virus was eradicated.

He said that proper investigation of each polio case was being made to chase the virus till its end.

Mr Makhdoom informed the meeting that as many as 554,220 children upto the age of five years would be vaccinated in the district during the polio eradication campaign from July 13 to 15.

He said that eight taluka supervisors, 32 zonal supervisors and 256 area in-charges so far had been appointed to monitor the process of vaccination.

EDO health Dr Nazar Junejo said that 98 per cent coverage was achieved in the last campaign while efforts were made to achieve 100 per cent coverage during the campaign.

Dr Domicina of the WHO, DO health Dr Altaf Khero, Pakistan Medical Association, Sindh chapter's president Dr Noor Memon, Prof (Dr) Rafique Soomro, and representative of NGOs attended the meeting.

JACOBABAD: A meeting, presided over by DCO Shafqat Hussain Talpur, was held here on Saturday to review the polio campaign and devise a plan to detect polio cases and point out those areas where anti-polio drops should be administered.

The DCO told the meeting that women workers from educational institutes and non-government organizations as well as women councillors would be deputed to administer drops in remote areas and to ensure that the drops were available in every village.

Committed persons who detected polio cases would be rewarded with cash prizes and medals, he added.

Dr Yahya of a non-government polio eradication institute, Frederic Caillette, participated in the meeting to review the success achieved so far in eradicating the disease from the area.

Health EDO Agha Noor Mohammad, education EDO Noorjehan Qazi, revenue EDO Shamsuddin Soomro and social welfare DO Surriya Baloch were also present on the occasion.

It may be noted that Jacobabad was one of the six districts of Sindh where polio cases were detected.

SUKKUR: DCO Abdul Qadir Mangi has directed health officers to devise an effective strategy during the anti-polio campaign to ensure that no child is left unattended.

Reviewing anti-polio arrangements at his office on Friday, he said that collective efforts were needed to achieve better results against the affliction that prevailed in Pakistan, India and Nigeria, and added that polio was close to being eradicated from the country. He said that the rural population of the district was not well aware of the hazards of the disease.

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