More than 300 enthusiastic cyclists from across Karachi participated in the polio awareness exercise in Clifton on Saturday under the banner of the Cycologists group and other cycling clubs. This event was organized by the Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Foundation (MKRF) in collaboration with the Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication Initiative Sindh (EOC) and the Karachi Rotary Club.
Apart from cycling rallies, walks were also carried out to raise awareness about the crippling disease polio. The event was attended by people from all walks of life, Rotarians, EOC members, students and civil society, who carried banners and placards bearing awareness slogans and messages to eradicate polio from our land.
Cycling and walking rallies are part of activities organized in conjunction with World Polio Day, which is celebrated annually on 24 October to raise awareness and promote the importance of taking coordinated and concerted action to end polio in Pakistan.
A boat race is also held as one of the events to raise awareness of this. The event started from the fishing village of Baba Island and was attended by dozens of people
men and young children from various villages and towns of fishing communities living along the city’s coast.
The purpose of the boat race is also to raise awareness among people
people about the dreaded polio disease and to highlight the importance of vaccination against vaccine-preventable diseases, especially polio.
After starting from SZABIST and cycling around the Boat Basin and Sea View, the young cyclists were given a detailed awareness session on polio.
causes and methods of prevention and what needs to be done to eradicate them.
This session was jointly organized by Psychologists, MKRF, Rotarians, Essa Lab, EOC and others.
with participation also from the Sindh government, WHO and representatives of Unicef.
Among the participants were Shahrukh Hasan, Group Managing Director Jang Group, Aziz Memon and Masood Balli from Rotary Club, Parliamentary Secretary for Health Qasim Soomro, EOC core team member Dr Shoukat Ali, EOC Media Specialist Abid Hasan and Ali Hafeez representing cyclists and Rotary Club.
The rally attendees and the outings were also updated about the latest polio incidents reported in Pakistan, and also about how important it is for them as citizens to play their part in clearing up all misconceptions about vaccination, which can save lives and prevent lifelongness. physical limitations.
On this occasion, the Managing Director of MKRF Shahrukh Hasan said that polio eradication from Pakistan is one of the national goals, where people from all walks of life must join hands and work together.
He also said that all religious and political parties, people from showbiz, different segments of society and ordinary people must come forward to eradicate this threat from our country for good.
“Polio eradication is a national goal, and the way we deal with COVID-19, we can also control and eradicate polio from our land. I encourage people from all walks of life to join hands and work as a unit to remove this threat from Pakistan. “
Prominent Rotarian and National Chairperson of Pakistan’s PolioPlus Committee Aziz Memon said that October 24 is an important day for the country.
He said the day was marked by reminiscing about Dr Jonas Salk, who had invented the oral polio vaccine (OPV) and made history by introducing it to save children from a crippling disease.
He said that with the OPV’s help, the world was polio-free, adding that more than 75 endemic countries had eradicated polio from their lands using it, and now Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where cases of this dreaded disease have occurred. is still being reported.
“Even Pakistan and Afghanistan are on track to eradicate this disease from the region. All we need to do is work hard, and everyone needs to support polio eradication. From October to December we will have a polio vaccination campaign, so we are
should encourage parents to have their children
get vaccinated every time the vaccinator knocks on his door. “
Health Parliament Secretary Qasim Soomro said polio eradication was a challenge for the Pakistani people, and the government and the people of Sindh had made extraordinary efforts in this regard. He said that even precious lives were sacrificed to eradicate this crippling disease from the country.
“The Sindh government and all its institutions, including the health department and especially the Minister of Health Dr Azra Pechuho, have worked very hard. Now we need a final push to eradicate this dreaded disease, ”said Soomro, and lauded the support from the Rotary Club, the EOC, donors and the general public.
Dr Shoukat Ali and Abid Hassan from the EOC say officials have been working day and night over the past few years to eradicate polio from the country, and now is the time for parents to show commitment, vaccinate their children and also motivate others so this threat can be controlled permanently.
Meanwhile, Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said she wanted to reward the unsung heroes of the polio eradication program, the frontline workers who have done their job in extremely difficult circumstances reaching children with the life-saving vaccine.
“I ask parents and caregivers to welcome these workers at their doorsteps. It is their efforts to protect the future generations of our country. “
