Polio to be completely eradicated from Pakistan soon: Minister

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Federal Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan on Saturday vowed that his ministry was providing and utilising all available resources to eradicate polio from Pakistan permanently till the end of the year 2023.

“Polio-free Pakistan’ is a national goal which is now close to our mission of ending polio”, he said while talking to a private news channel.

He assured that the caretaker government is making all out efforts to root out the polio virus from the country and these endeavors will produce positive results.

The health minister also urged the citizens to cooperate with teams for the complete eradication of the crippling disease from the country.

“The Health Ministry has been actively involved in the Polio Programme in the past few months and we will ensure that the focus on polio remains unwavering.

“We are regularly holding awarness drives and religious workshops in which we are collectively working with religious scholars to build community trust and convey vaccine safety and efficacy in communities around Pakistan,” he added.

The minister also called upon the federal, provincial and district administrations to address the challenges of persistently missed children and also encourage the people by raising awareness about the gravity of the situation.

Replying to a question, the health minister replied that the future of our children was at stake and we must protect them at all costs.

Pakistan is committed to eradicate the deadly polio virus and will fulfill all its international obligations in this regard, he expressed.

Pakistan has reported two polio cases this year. Both children belong to Bannu, one of the seven endemic districts in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.