Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif officially launched a seven-day national anti-political campaign by administering Polio Falls to children during a public event on Sunday.
Addressing the rally, the PM called the parents across the country to cooperate fully with the anti-political teams to ensure that each child is vaccinated. He stressed that the elimination of Pakistan polioviruses is achievable thanks to collective national efforts.
He expressed confidence in the effectiveness of the current strategy and noted that complete and robust security arrangements have been implemented to protect health workers participating in the campaign. He also underlined the critical role of public awareness and community mobilization in the fight against polio.
In his remarks, Prime Minister Shehbaz was sincere thanks to international partners – in particular the World Health Organization and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – for their unshakable support in the continuous efforts of Pakistan to eradicate polio.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Health, Syed Mustafa Kamal, recognized that if important research was carried out in the Pakistan health care sector, the implementation remains a critical gap. He also noted that Afghanistan makes more effective efforts to eradicate polio compared to Pakistan.
The Minister made these remarks during the fight against a ceremony organized by the Health Research Advisory Board in Karachi.
Stressing regional progress, Kamal revealed that Afghanistan could succeed in eliminating polio before Pakistan. “I hope Pakistan and Afghanistan will be able to carry out an eradication of polio,” he added, highlighting the need for stronger and coordinated efforts.
