Persistent virus keeps Sindh on edge as new polio drive begins

Province contributes nearly a third of national cases; CM urges collective effort for virus elimination

IV Report

KARACHI: With nine new cases of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) so far in 2025—accounting for 31 per cent of Pakistan’s overall tally—Sindh has launched another province-wide campaign targeting 10.6 million children under five, as part of the national oral polio vaccination (OPV) drive that began on October 13.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, accompanied by Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho and other dignitaries, inaugurated the week-long campaign at the KMC Maternity Home in Gizri by administering drops to newborns and young children.

“Polio elimination is our moral responsibility. Every child deserves a healthy and safe future,” Mr Shah told reporters, expressing concern over the continued detection of the virus in environmental samples and the province’s nine confirmed cases this year.

Reaffirming the government’s resolve—supported by WHO, UNICEF, and other partners—to make Pakistan polio-free, he appealed to parents to ensure that no child is missed and urged religious scholars, teachers, civil society, and the media to help achieve full coverage.

According to officials, around 80,000 health workers and 21,000 security personnel are taking part in the campaign across 1,400 union councils in Sindh, aiming to reach every eligible child at their doorstep.

Courtesy: Social Track, Weekly.

Public health experts have cautioned that Pakistan remains one of only two polio-endemic countries, alongside Afghanistan. Sindh’s situation, they note, is particularly worrying: since July 2024, the province has reported 30 paralytic polio cases and nearly 300 environmental samples positive for the virus—an alarming trend they attribute to “suboptimal programme performance.”

This year Sindh has recorded around 125 virus-positive samples from districts including Karachi East, Malir, Central, Korangi, Keamari, South, West, Hyderabad, Badin, Jacobabad, Jamshoro, Dadu, Sujawal, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Ghotki, Thatta, and Naushahro Feroze, it is learnt.

Recent confirmed polio cases in Badin and Thatta brought their respective tallies to three and two. Hyderabad, Larkana, Badin, Kambar, and Umerkot have reported one case each.

Nationwide, the October 13–19 campaign seeks to vaccinate 45.5 million children, while Pakistan’s total polio case count for 2025 has reached 29—including 18 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Photos: Official sources