ISLAMABAD: Expressing concerns over the rising cases of polio in Bannu and Peshawar, Prime Minister Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Babar Bin Ata asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan to convene a meeting of the provincial task force on polio eradication, ARY News reported.
In a letter to the chief minister, Ata asked to summon a meeting of the task force on polio eradication on May 15 to discuss the alarming situation in connection with the crippling disease in the province.
Ata said in the letter, “The province has recorded 10 cases of the total 15 registered countrywide this year so far. It is a matter of grave concerns and should be discussed to deal with the situation.”
“The current situation needs to be tackled effectively and aggressively through collective efforts by all stakeholders. However, the main responsibility lies with the respective district management,” it said.
Ata directed the commissioners of Bannu and Peshawar to present their reports over the failure of polio program in their areas in the meeting.
Read More: Two more polio cases reported from KP
Earlier on April 23, two new polio cases had been reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhuwa (KP), increasing the number to eight, this year so far.
According to sources within polio eradication program, the first case had been reported in a 22-month-old boy Hamza in Bannu, while another case had been detected in a two-year-old girl in South Waziristan.
“The parents of the aforesaid children denied administering anti-polio drops to their toddlers during the campaign against this crippling disease of polio in their respective areas”, the sources had claimed.
