Minister calls for joint efforts to make Pakistan polio-free

ISLAMABAD: Stressing upon the need for joint efforts against polio, Federal Health Minister Aamir Mehmood Kiani on Monday urged the masses to join hands to transform Pakistan into a polio-free state.

According to a statement released from the ministry, Aamir Mehmood Kiani said that reduction of polio cases from 20,000 to only 8 this year indicates remarkable progress in protecting children from the disease.

 Earlier in his briefing, Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar, Coordinator, National Emergency Operations Centre shared statistics of December campaign successfully conducted nationwide using a workforce of almost 260,000 frontline workers.

The coordinator said that of the 37.73 million children targeted in the campaign and added that the programme however, still has around 400,000 children recorded as unvaccinated.

Dr. Rana Muhammad Safdar said, “Despite significant case decline, the

presence of the virus in the sewerage water of urban settings indicate that our job is not yet done. We are working hard to fully plug the immunity gaps by addressing the remaining challenges in core reservoirs.”

 The coordinator said that the government is fully committed to eliminate the polio virus from the country.

Read More: PM urges nation to step forward in making Pakistan ‘polio-free’

It is pertinent to mention here that  Prime Minister Imran Khan, on December 10,  had urged the nation to step forward and take the responsibility of making Pakistan a polio-free country.

As per details, the premier took to Twitter and wrote, “As the nationwide campaign against polio begins across Pakistan, I call on the nation to step forward, take responsibility and make Pakistan polio-free.”.