CM Sindh says polio needs to be struck, calls for upholding sanctity of truth

Author: Agencies

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah taking notice of the detection of another polio case in Hyderabad expressed his despair and sorrow saying that the world was exploring new avenues of development and progress, but we are still stuck in a loop of eradicating poliovirus from our society.

Mr Shah said that the new case of polio in a 2.5-year-old boy shocked him because the government’s continuous efforts were not producing tangible results due to the non-cooperation of parents and refusal. “Each refusal case also contributes to the spread of poliovirus in the environment,” he said and urged the parents to save their children from this crippling disease by voluntarily administering them polio vaccines.

The CM said that with the emergence of a new case, we now have five polio cases in Sindh and 24 in the country. “The failure to eradicate poliovirus has a cost which not only our children are paying but we, as a nation, would have to pay,” he said.

Through its health department, the CM said the government has been and will be launching door-to-door anti-polio drives, but the parents must provide good health, education and a future for their children. “Now, it is the parents who have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the government and the polio workers to eliminate poliovirus.”

The CM directed the health department to conduct an inquiry into the emergence of a new polio case and frame its recommendation so that necessary policy decisions could be taken accordingly.

World News Day: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in his message on World News Day said that its theme is `Choose Truth’ which itself is a loud cry for the people engaged with the news industry.

Mr Shah said that the truth is truth if it is presented in true letter and spirit but, if a single word of untruth or exaggeration is added, the sanctity of it is tarnished. He added that in this world of social media where everyone has a tool and strength to raise his voice, but that voice has started strangulating in the falsehood and rumour mills.

The chief minister urged the media, print and electronic, and even social, to uphold the truth by making a loud cry between the truth and falsehood.