IDB approves US$60 bn for polio vaccination in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has approved Rs US$60 million for Pakistan aimed at supporting the polio immunization campaign in the country, ARY NEWS reported on Wednesday.   

According to details, the IDB has signed an agreement today for polio vaccination in the country.

A handout issued by the economic affairs ministry detailed that the US$60 billion would include a $39 billion loan and $21 billion grant from the IDB for the vaccination.

The agreements for the provision of a loan and a grant were signed by the secretary of economic affairs and a representative of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) during a ceremony at the economic affairs division.

The amount would be used for purchasing the polio vaccine and performing other responsibilities during the polio immunization drive, carried out by 260,000 polio workers.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where the poliovirus has popped up again and again.

On December 30, 2020, another polio case was reported in Balochistan, taking the tally of cases to 84 across the country this year.

The provincial health department confirmed that a 14-month old girl in Mastung district of the province tested positive for the virus.

Read More: COAS Bajwa, Bill Gates discuss Pakistan’s Covid-19 response, polio campaign

The samples of the affected girl who is a resident of Mastung’s Karez Noth had been sent to a laboratory for a polio test on December 6. It emerged that the parents of the girl had rejected administering anti-polio drops to the girl.

According to the statistics, the number of poliovirus cases stood at 22 in Sindh, 22 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and 14 in Punjab.