CM Orders Intensified Efforts Ahead of September Anti-polio Campaign
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Wednesday chaired a meeting of the Provincial Task Force (PTF) on Polio Eradication and reviewed the province’s progress against poliovirus. He noted that Sindh has significantly reduced its polio burden, dropping from 23 cases in 2024 and nine in 2025 to just one case so far in 2026. Environmental surveillance data shows virus circulation contracting to a few residual high-risk areas.
Reaffirming the government’s commitment to eliminating the disease, the chief minister directed authorities to intensify vaccination, surveillance, and community engagement efforts ahead of the September 21-27 Sub-National Immunisation Days (SNIDs) campaign.
"The progress achieved by Sindh is encouraging... but our mission will only be complete when every child is protected, and the virus is eliminated from every district," said Murad Ali Shah. He stressed, “No child should remain unvaccinated due to negligence, weak supervision, or lack of follow-up.”
The meeting, held at the CM House, was attended by:
- Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho
- Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah
- Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab
- IG Police Sindh Javed Alam Odho
- Commissioner Karachi Hassan Naqvi
- Provincial secretaries
- Provincial Coordinator Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Shaharyar Gul
- Sindh government partners
- Deputy commissioners from various districts (via video link)
Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho informed the meeting that Pakistan’s wild poliovirus (WPV1) cases have declined sharply from 74 in 2024 to 31 in 2025 and only three so far in 2026. Sindh has recorded a single case this year, compared to nine cases last year and 23 in 2024.
In-charge EOC Shaharyar Gul shared that environmental surveillance data shows a significant reduction in virus circulation across the province. Positive environmental surveillance sites have fallen from a peak of 29 in March 2025 to only five in August 2026. Outside Karachi, all 14 surveillance sites are currently negative, while six of Karachi’s 15 sites remain positive, indicating confined transmission in limited pockets of the city.
The meeting was told that Karachi’s absence of confirmed polio cases during the 2025 high-transmission season, despite some positive environmental samples, reflects stronger population immunity achieved through routine immunisation and repeated vaccination campaigns.
Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah observed that sustained immunisation efforts have helped prevent clinical cases even where environmental surveillance continues to detect virus circulation.