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The Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, has said that a significant decline\u00a0in polio cases has been recorded, with only one\u00a0case so far\u00a0in 2026 compared\u00a0with nine in\u00a02025 and 23\u00a0in 2024.<\/strong><\/p>\n He noted this while\u00a0reviewing the province\u2019s\u00a0polio eradication efforts\u00a0at a meeting\u00a0of the Provincial\u00a0Task Force on\u00a0Polio Eradication in\u00a0Karachi.<\/p>\n Officials said environmental\u00a0surveillance data also indicated\u00a0that poliovirus\u00a0circulation was becoming\u00a0increasingly concentrated\u00a0in a small\u00a0number of high-risk areas.<\/p>\n According to\u00a0the briefing, the\u00a0number of sites\u00a0testing positive for\u00a0poliovirus fell from\u00a0a peak of\u00a029 in\u00a0March 2025 to\u00a0five in August\u00a02026.<\/p>\n All 14 surveillance\u00a0sites outside Karachi\u00a0were reported to\u00a0be negative.\u00a0In Karachi, six\u00a0of 15 sites\u00a0continued to test\u00a0positive.<\/p>\n The province\u2019s\u00a0only confirmed polio\u00a0case this year\u00a0was reported in\u00a0Sujawal on 10\u00a0February, officials said.<\/p>\n Briefing the meeting, Health Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho said Pakistan\u2019s wild poliovirus (WPV1) cases have declined sharply from 74 in 2024 to 31 in 2025 and only three so far in 2026.<\/p>\n The chief minister\u00a0directed officials to\u00a0step up vaccination, surveillance and community\u00a0engagement ahead of\u00a0the\u00a0Sub-National Immunization\u00a0Days (SNIDs) campaign\u00a0from 21 to\u00a027 September.<\/p>\n Nearly\u00a010 million children\u00a0under the age\u00a0of five\u00a0are expected to\u00a0receive oral polio\u00a0vaccine during the\u00a0campaign across Sindh.<\/p>\n Over 80,000 frontline workers\u00a0will take part, while about\u00a026,000 police personnel\u00a0have been assigned\u00a0security duties.<\/p>\n The campaign will\u00a0cover 23\u00a0districts in full, along with selected\u00a0union councils in\u00a0seven partially covered\u00a0districts.<\/p>\n CM Sindh also directed\u00a0district administrations\u00a0to address missed\u00a0vaccinations, refusals,\u00a0and operational gaps, and\u00a0called for greater\u00a0attention to migrant\u00a0and mobile populations\u00a0and communities with\u00a0low\u00a0routine immunization coverage.<\/p>\n Officials said the\u00a0continued detection\u00a0of poliovirus in\u00a0environmental samples remained\u00a0a warning despite\u00a0the decline in\u00a0confirmed cases.<\/p>\n The chief minister\u00a0called for\u00a0increased vaccination and\u00a0monitoring in Karachi\u00a0and other high-risk areas, as\u00a0well as implementation\u00a0of the\u00a0Karachi Action Plan\u00a02.0.<\/p>\n \u201cEnvironmental samples are\u00a0warning signals. We\u00a0must act before\u00a0the virus finds\u00a0susceptible\u00a0children,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Officials also reported\u00a0that a 10-day follow-up\u00a0campaign after\u00a0the July SNIDs\u00a0drive vaccinated more\u00a0than\u00a023,500 of 146,149\u00a0children\u00a0who had initially\u00a0been missed.<\/p>\n The chief minister appreciated the efforts of frontline workers, teachers, community mobilisers and health staff working in remote and hard-to-reach areas, describing them as the backbone of the eradication program.<\/p>\n Murad Shah directed district administrations to further reduce refusal rates through stronger community engagement and public awareness campaigns, emphasizing that building trust with parents remains critical to the success of the program.<\/p>\n Concluding the meeting, Murad Shah reaffirmed Sindh\u2019s commitment to achieving a polio-free future.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n