Polio vaccination must for travellers from FATA to other areas: PM
This year, 61 polio cases have been confirmed in different parts of the country.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News)- The decision has been taken to deploy army in the tribal areas as well as the borders of the settled areas.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday issued orders that each person travelling from tribal areas will have to be vaccinated before entering the settled areas. The army will be deployed to implement the decision at the borders of the settled areas.
Over a two million children have been deprived of vaccination in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). The PM also directed National Coordinator for Anti-Polio Campaign Ayesha Raza to call on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor in this regard.
Earlier, Ayesha Raza Farooq briefed the Prime Minister on World Health Organisation s (WHO) requirements regarding vaccination prior to travel abroad and initiatives taken at federal and provincial levels to make the campaign successful.
Pakistan s failure to stem the spread of polio triggered global emergency health measures this month, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recommending all residents must show proof of vaccination before they can leave the country.
Pakistan is in the spotlight as the only country with endemic polio that saw cases rise last year.
On May 13, the National Assembly unanimously passed a resolution urging all the lawmaker to ensure implementation of polio immunization programme in their respective constituencies.
Polio passes easily from person to person and can spread rapidly among children, especially in the kind of unsanitary conditions endured by displaced people in war-torn regions, refugee camps and areas where health care is limited.
The virus invades the nervous system and can cause irreversible paralysis within hours. The WHO has repeatedly warned that as long as any single child remains infected with polio, children everywhere are at risk.
There is no cure for the disease but it can be prevented by immunization. The polio vaccine, administered multiple times, can protect a child for life.
