Karachi’s civic administration and the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), the city coordination hub for polio work, are tightening the anti-polio drive after poliovirus was confirmed in Jamali Colony, with orders to stop further spread and push for eradication across the city.
Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi directed departments to use a fuller strategy, especially in low-coverage pockets, informal settlements, shanty towns and underserved neighbourhoods. On Tuesday he visited Union Council 18 in Jamali Colony with Deputy Commissioner East Nasrullah Abbasi, Karachi Polio Task Force Coordinator Saud Yaqub, town officials, the union council chairman and local elected representatives, then chaired a review of planning, coverage and containment steps.
Campaign scale and first-day results
Officials said the current drive began on 2 November and will run until 8 November. During that window, 2.16 million children under five are to receive oral polio vaccine drops, with more than 23,000 polio workers on duty and special security arrangements in place for field teams.
In Jamali Colony, briefers put the population at 62,647. Vaccination targets include 5,284 children through households, 1,616 through schools and 232 at transit points. Three vaccinators are assigned there, backed by two Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) fixed sites—routine public immunisation posts—and two outreach sites, with three identified slum or informal settlement zones.
On the first day, the local target was 1,022 children. Teams reached or contacted 1,061 and administered drops to 846, about 83 per cent of the day’s target. Across Karachi Division, about 2.1 million children under five are in the campaign frame; day-one coverage was reported at 20 per cent, while teams reached 84 per cent of a 425,682-household target.
Focus on hard-to-reach children
Deputy Commissioner Abbasi described barriers in sensitive spots and the difficulty of reaching children in informal settlements and underprivileged communities. He said a plan was ready so every under-five in Jamali Colony gets drops, that respected community members and local opinion leaders are being asked for support, and that parents had been contacted and were cooperating.
Commissioner Naqvi called for stronger departmental effort and community partnership. He ordered vaccination of children from families that had previously refused, closer watch on movement and migration inside Karachi, and inclusion of informal settlements inside or next to affluent areas that surveys often miss. He pointed out some such locations himself and told officers no settlement or child should be left out. Saud Yaqub said overall coverage in the city had improved but stressed targeted work where gaps remain.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- 2 November: Citywide anti-polio drive begins; Jamali Colony day-one teams vaccinate 846 children against a 1,022 target.
- 2 November (citywide): About 20 per cent of under-fives covered; teams reach 84 per cent of 425,682 households.
- Tuesday: Commissioner Naqvi visits Union Council 18, Jamali Colony, and chairs a campaign review with district and polio task-force officials.
- Through 8 November: Drive continues, with a city target of 2.16 million children under five.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Karachi ke Jamali Colony mein polio virus milne ke baad sheher mein polio drops ka campaign tez kar diya gaya hai. Do se aath November tak paanch saal se kam umar ke 2.16 million bachon ko drops deni hain. Pehle din Jamali Colony mein target ka lagbhag 83 percent cover ho gaya. Ghar walon ko is drive mein teams ka saath dena chahiye taake koi bacha chhoot na jaye.
