Pakistan reaffirms commitment to polio eradication, says health minister

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for National Health Services Aamer Mehmood Kiani on Monday re-affirmed the government’s full support to eradication the polio.

“The government is making efforts to overcome the remaining challenges as they arise,” he said in a meeting with Chairman of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Polio Eradication Dr Jean-Marc Olivé.

The minister said Pakistan was committed to stopping poliovirus transmission in the core reservoirs and sustaining our highly data-driven programming that effectively guided our operations.

He expressed his satisfaction in the quality, efficacy and safety of the oral polio vaccine. He said that the polio programme must ensure that every child under five years of age was vaccinated during every immunization campaign.

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Mehmood Kiani said in accordance with the vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan ensuring basic health, nutrition, and water and safe sanitation services was priority of the government.

“I am confident that we will soon achieve lasting benefits for the Pakistani people. The success of the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme is an inspiring model and testament to Pakistan’s capacity to improve its public health service delivery and ensure the health and well-being of its citizens,” he said.

Dr Jean-Marc commended the extraordinary efforts of the country team and thousands of frontline workers, backed by law enforcement agencies for polio eradication at all levels.

“The persistent positive environmental samples in the core reservoirs of Peshawar and Karachi, as well as the recent upsurge of positive environmental samples across the country however mean that the war against polio is far from over,” said Dr. Jean-Marc Olivé.

“The inaccessibility related to intense virus circulation in shared corridors with Afghanistan further leaves no space for Pakistan to relax till the job is fully done,” he added.