In phone call with Gates, PM Shehbaz renews commitment to eradicate polio

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a telephonic conversation with Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), on Tuesday.

The ongoing public health and social sector programmes supported by the Foundation in Pakistan were discussed, including polio eradication and its support towards improving immunisation, nutrition and financial inclusion services in Pakistan.

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While noting that only one case of polio was recorded in 2021, PM Shehbaz stressed that his government remained committed to eradicating all forms of the crippling disease.

He expressed grave concern on the first case of poliovirus in 2022, after 15 months, which was recently confirmed in a child in North Waziristan. He noted that a special emergency response plan for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is already under implementation to scale up and improve the quality of the polio eradication programme and increase security of frontline health workers.

Mr. Gates acknowledged the positive progress and reiterated the Foundation’s continued support to Pakistan for ensuring that no child was at risk of paralysis due to poliovirus.

Recalling the polio related challenges faced by Afghanistan, the prime minister expressed satisfaction on the resumption of polio vaccination campaigns in Afghanistan and underlined the need for adequate international support to Afghanistan in that regard.

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PM Shehbaz and Mr. Gates also exchanged views on Pakistan’s COVID-19 vaccination drive.

Moreover, they discussed BMGF’s support for various other government-led programmes aimed at addressing malnutrition and stunting, essential immunisation services, operationalisation of micropayment gateways financial inclusion, and digitization of the National Savings Programme.