Govt committed to make Pakistan polio-free state: Dr. Zafar Mirza

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Services Dr. Zafar Mirza on Sunday said that the government was committed to make Pakistan a polio-free state.

In a statement, Zafar Mirza said that urgent measures are being taken to eradicate polio virus from the country. He said the successful results of the recent polio campaign have proved that the program is once again in right direction, Radio Pakistan reported.

The special assistant said 2, 65,000 frontline workers participated in the recent campaign while 43.9 million children were administered anti-polio drops.

He said during this campaign there was not a single geographical location on the map of Pakistan that was inaccessible to polio teams. Dr. Zafar Mirza said for the first time in history anti-polio campaign launched a health care helpline.

Earlier on December 22, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza had expressed the optimism that polio will be eliminated from the country through collaborative efforts.

In a statement, he had said during the recently concluded polio eradication campaign, 99 percent target of administering vaccine to children has been achieved. A total of 2,65,000 polio workers took part in the drive, he had added.

The special assistant had said 111 polio cases had been reported thus far this year, adding significance to the campaign.