Haider Ali is now 35 years old and works at a showroom in Karachi, however, his childhood was not like most children had in his hometown just because of one reason: poliovirus.

He hails from Sindh’s Tando Muhammad Khan, 190.2km away from Pakistan’s economic hub Karachi. Like many job seekers from across the country, Ali is in Karachi to earn a livelihood.

Polio, also known as poliomyelitis, is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus. It invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis in a matter of hours. The virus is transmitted by person-to-person spread mainly through the faecal-oral route or, less frequently, by a common vehicle (for example, contaminated water or food) and multiplies in the intestine, according to the World Health Organisation.

Pakistan made another push on Monday for a polio-free country. This is 2024’s first vaccination campaign and the South Asian country does not want to be the last remaining infected country.

The 220-million population country entered the New Year with a backlog of six cases – two from Sindh and four from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. More than 400,000 vaccinators would reach door-to-door vaccinate over 44.3 million children under five years of age until January 12. If anyone misses during the five-day drive, parents can take their children to the nearest health centre for the drops.

Health workers, often described as the frontline of defence against polio, would bring vaccination to as many as 10.3 million children in Sindh.

But Ali missed polio drops in his childhood, leaving him with irreversible paralysis in his left leg. He washes cars by supporting himself with an underarm crutch. This is part of daily life routine.

“I have been infected with polio in my childhood,” he told Aaj News after finishing his work.

He only wishes for a better future for all children, urging all mothers in the province and the country that polio drops should be given to every child.

Dr Shahzad Baig, the coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication, said that polio has no cure. It is a devastating disease that affects not just individual children but also changes the lives of the whole family, he added.

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Initial symptoms of the virus are fever, fatigue, headache, vomiting, stiffness of the neck and pain in the limbs, the WHO said. One in 200 infections leads to irreversible paralysis. Among those paralysed, 5–10% die when their breathing muscles become immobilized.

Baig highlighted that the vaccine offers protection from the disease and the chance for children to live up to their potential, requesting parents and caregivers countrywide to take every opportunity to vaccinate children against polio.

While Ali has managed to live with his condition, he wants no one to have a similar life experience. “I have been like this. No one should be like this,” Ali said.