Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched a special campaign against the polio virus to ensure complete eradication of the crippling disease from the country as the number of cases jumped to 17 by 2024.
The polio campaign, which will be held in 115 districts of the country, will target at least 30 million children under the age of five for immunization against the debilitating disease.
As part of the initiative, some 286,000 polio workers will go door-to-door to administer polio drops to children from September 9 to 15.
“We are grateful to the partners and friendly international organizations that are working with the government in the fight against polio,” said Prime Minister Shehbaz.
He expressed optimism that the federal government, in collaboration with the provincial governments and partners, would succeed in completely eradicating polio from the country.
“Our efforts to eradicate polio from Pakistan will definitely bear fruit, Insha’Allah,” the prime minister said.
He also paid tribute to the efforts of federal and provincial officials, polio workers and security personnel in the fight against polio.
The prime minister urged parents to ensure that their children under the age of five receive the polio vaccine to protect them from life-long disability.
On this occasion, the Prime Minister personally administered polio drops to children.
The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Health, Dr Mukhtar Bharath, the Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq, representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, the Gates Foundation and the United Nations together with other senior officials.
Amid ongoing efforts to eradicate the polio virus, Islamabad reported its first case of the crippling disease in 16 years two days ago, taking the national toll to 17 this year.
Polio is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that mainly affects children under the age of five who are malnourished or have weak immunity because they have not been vaccinated or have not been vaccinated against polio and other childhood diseases.
The disease invades the nervous system and causes paralysis or even death. Although there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this devastating disease.
Despite the government’s rigorous efforts to eradicate the disease, Pakistan remains in the grip of the polio virus. It is one of the two remaining polio-endemic countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, and the number of annual cases has declined significantly in the country.
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