Govt for national anti-political level launch in three provinces on September 1

• Pakistan reports 26 cases of polio this year.
• Most cases were reported by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• The polio virus was detected in samples of sewage of 127 areas.

Pakistan will launch a new national campaign against polio on September 1 in three provinces, while in Punjab, the campaign will begin on September 10.

Federal Minister of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination of Syed Mustafa Kamal, accompanied by MQM-Pakistan leader Anis Qaimkhani, held a press conference at his office in Karachi on Friday on the upcoming National Campaign.

Addressing the press, he said that polio virus has been detected in sewage of 127 areas across the country, including all areas of Karachi.

He said that of the 26 cases mentioned this year, 16 was from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with 13 cases resulting from the southern KP where security challenges had prevented vaccination efforts.

Meanwhile, the National Emergency Business Center (NEOC) has postponed the polio vaccination campaign into nine Punjab regions due to the continued flood condition.

The campaign has been postponed to Lachori, Sheikhura, Kasur, Okra, Gujandala, Sialcot, Mitan, Mouzafarg and Bahaulpour. Meanwhile, the polio unit will continue as scheduled for Rawalpindi, Mianwali, Faisalabad and Dera Ghazi Khan.

In Attock, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan, the vaccination campaign will proceed as planned.

Underlining the severity of the situation, Kamal said: “The only solution for protecting children from polio is the repetitive administration of polio, all religious scholars and Madrasas have declared the country secure and will have to dismantle it.

The Minister of Health also stressed that parents in Karachi show the highest resistance to the vaccination of polio. He noted that door -to -door campaigns are underway in Pakistan.

Concerning the state of floods in the country, Kamal said the government has met all the requirements for medicines and medical equipment from flood -affected areas. He said the federal and provincial governments are in constant coordination, while a command and control room was created at the National Institute of Health (NIH) to monitor the situation. He added that NDMA groups are in close contact with the Ministry of Health.

Kamal emphasized that natural disasters cannot be addressed only by provincial or federal governments and called for the strengthening of the Local Government system, which characterized the most effective mechanism for disaster management.

“Our country operates under provincial and federal structures, but the disasters of this size cannot be addressed without strengthening local agencies.

The minister added that while the provinces collectively received 8,700 billion Rs, there is no mechanism to ensure that resources would be reduced to the lower grade. Called transparent planning and effective utilization of funds.