Islamabad:
The Minister of Health, Mustafa Kamal, announced that the government would launch an anti-polao campaign nationally on May 26, aimed at immunizing more than 45 million children under the age of five.
Last month, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif launched a seven -day national campaign to vaccinate millions of children under the age of five. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to eradicate the country’s polio.
Speaking after a meeting with the president of Global Development at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Chris Elias on Sunday, Kamal reaffirmed the determination of the government to eradicate the polio under the leadership of Prime Minister Shehbaz.
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“The Prime Minister personally monitors the program performance and organizes regular meetings to ensure his success,” said Kamal. “Federal and provincial governments, as well as law enforcement organizations, are united in this mission.”
Mustafa Kamal praised the continuous support of the Gates Foundation and said that the security forces had made “immense sacrifices” in the campaign against polio. “Our struggle came with sacrifices, but the mission will continue until the polio is completely eradicated,” he added.
The Minister noted that the next campaign will take place in coordination with Afghanistan, continuing joint efforts between the two neighboring countries. He said the previous campaigns in February and April had been successfully completed and that the vaccination resistance was down.
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“Due to high -quality campaigns and community commitment, the number of parents refusing vaccines has dropped considerably,” said Kamal. “We are committed to eliminating polio by the end of this year.” Dr. Elias praised Pakistan’s anti-political efforts and expressed its optimism that the country could achieve its objective of eradication by 2025.
Unfortunately, Pakistan remains among countries that still fight against polio and continue to take action to eradicate the disease. So far this year, the country has reported eight cases, despite the current national vaccination campaigns.
Last year, Pakistan reported 74 cases of confirmed polio – 27 from Balutchistan, 22 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 23 of Sindh, and one from Punjab and Islamabad.
