Japan to provide $3.2m to Regional Polio Laboratory

ISLAMABAD: The government of Japan on Friday announced to provide a grant of $3.2 million for the procurement of equipment for the Regional Reference Laboratory for polio eradication located at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad.

In an event hosted by the Ministry of National Health Services, the exchange of notes for the grant was officially signed by representatives of the Japanese government, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and World Health Organization (WHO).

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Federal Minister of National Health Services Ms. Saira Afzal Tarar said: “The steady support of the government of Japan and other partners have been crucial elements of the programme’s tremendous progress over the past two years. The new grant will help strengthen polio surveillance through adaptation of new technology and contribute towards polio eradication in the country.”

Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan Mr. Takashi Kurai said that maintaining the strong polio surveillance system that has been established in Pakistan remains critical for eradication work.

“We are pleased to be a part of this honourable initiative. However, in order to eradicate polio altogether from Pakistan, it is not sufficient to promote vaccination activities.

“We should also address the unawareness of the matter among the people and the need for building up of the necessary infrastructure for enhancing the activities. Japan will continue to support Pakistan for polio eradication from a wider perspective in order to achieve the complete eradication of polio.”

Chief Representative JICA Pakistan Office Mr. Yasuhiro Tojo said that the agency has been supporting the polio programme and routine immunization since 1996 and 2001 respectively.

“I sincerely believe that through the concerted implementation of this grant aid, the polio surveillance system will progress across the provinces and districts,” he further added.

“This will improve the routine immunization situation in the country including polio that will help the government of Pakistan not only to eradicate polio but also to sustain polio-free Pakistan after eradication.”

Pakistan’s polio eradication programme has come a long way towards building a future in which polio no longer endangers children, families and communities across the country.

There were only eight polio cases recorded in 2017, compared to 20 in 2016 and 54 in 2015.

“Japan’s support comes during a critical time when the role of polio surveillance, particularly a well-functioning laboratory, is more important than ever,” said Mr Christopher Maher, Polio Eradication and Emergency Support Manager, WHO.

The Japanese government has supported the polio eradication initiative in Pakistan since 1996. Approximately 24 billion Yen ($224 million), including this grant of $3.2 million has been given to Pakistan to strengthen the polio eradication programme and curb the crippling disease.

With the procurement of state-of-the-art molecular-biology equipment including genetic analysers, real time PCR machines, incubators and freezers among others, the laboratory will significantly enhance its sample processing capacity.

Through this new equipment, the laboratory will improve the speed of results reported from stool samples received, people suffering from acute flaccid paralysis, in addition to samples taken from the sewage in areas identified as being at risk of polio.

In 2017 alone, the Regional Reference Laboratory tested 30, 000 stool samples and 950 environmental samples coming from both Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The Japanese grant will be used to replace aging stocks of cold chain materials, reagents and other essential equipment required to accurately isolate and identify wild poliovirus from stool and environmental samples.