No birth certificates for children skipping immunization: Yasmin Rashid

LAHORE: Punjab Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid on Wednesday said that they would make Pakistan polio-free under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, ARY NEWS reported.

“We have launched a major anti-polio immunization campaign in Punjab and it will target children in all districts of the province during the process,” she said.

Dr. Yasmin Rashid further said that they have directed the authorities to not provide birth certificates of the children unless they have the record of these children being immunized during the campaigns.

She further said that they are completely implementing upon the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) during the polio immunization campaign.

Besides tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, we are also committed to eliminating polio from the country. “We are expanding the sphere of the Extended Programme of Immunization (EPI) to the nine regions of the Punjab province,” she said.

It is pertinent to mention here that measures have been adopted in the country to eradicate polio through immunization campaigns frequently.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Gates, in a telephonic conversation, also discussed the resumption of the polio eradication campaign on November 13.

According to the army’s media wing, Bill Gates conveyed his appreciation for the Pakistan Army for supporting the national polio drive and ensuring proper reach and coverage of polio campaigns this year, particularly through the involvement of community leaders and influencers.

“It was a national cause and national effort. We will call it a success when no child is affected in Pakistan. Credit goes to the grassroots workers including the mobile teams, Law Enforcement Agencies and health representatives,” the ISPR quoted COAS as saying.

Both also discussed the safe start and efforts needed to effectively conduct polio campaigns, added the ISPR.