ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar on Thursday said that polio would be eradicated from Pakistan by 2019.
Presiding over a meeting of Central Development Working Party (CDWP), the minister said that polio eradication is a national priority and a holistic action plan is needed to ensure zero polio cases in Pakistan as per national and global commitments.
According to a statement by the ministry, the CDWP considered two revised projects including the Nai Gaj Dam Project and an emergency plan for polio eradication. The forum recommended 2nd revision of the emergency plan for polio eradication worth $986.3mn.
The forum was informed that polio would be eradicated from the country by the end of this year; however, two years would be required for a follow-up and complete eradication of its core reservoirs.
Two international organisations of United Nations including UNICEF and WHO are operating with the delivery of polio vaccination, supplementing immunisation and interruption of wild poliovirus in the country, reads the statement.
The meeting was attended by Secretary Planning Zafar Hasan, members of Planning Commission and officials from federal and provincial government.
