ISLAMABAD (APP) – Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Wednesday directed the formulation of an emergency polio eradication plan and the launch of integrated programmes in high-risk union councils.
Chairing a meeting of the Task Force on Polio Eradication, the premier emphasised monitoring polio vaccination campaigns using modern technology.
Expressing regret over recent reports of polio cases, the prime minister stated that the crippling disease, eradicated globally, still existed in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
About the use of the inactivated polio virus (IPV) vaccine, Kakar said that the best international practices and research needed to be taken into consideration.
He directed the resumption of the regular polio immunisation campaign across the country.
PM Kakar lauded the efforts of the international community and development partners in polio eradication.
He mentioned that enhanced cooperation on polio eradication was agreed upon in a meeting with Bill Gates, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties (COP28).
The PM stressed that teachers, scholars and parents should be included in raising awareness on polio eradication.
Terming the polio vaccine vital for the health, growth, and future of children, Kakar said all segments of society needed to play their role in polio eradication.
He directed holding an Ulema Convention and taking on board scholars to raise awareness of the issue.
In the recent polio awareness drives, 44 million children have been administered the vaccine.
It was highlighted that Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan are polio-free, whereas some union councils in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are more affected.
The meeting was informed that special polio health camps had been set up in the high-risk zone of Dera Ismail Khan, while similar camps were being established in vulnerable areas of Bannu, Lakki Marwat, and Tank.
The meeting was told that the polio teams were administering the vaccine to children at the illegal Afghan repatriation camps at Peshawar, Nowshera, and Chaman.
The meeting was attended by the caretaker Health Minister Dr Nadeem Jan, caretaker KP Chief Minister Justice (r) Arshad Hussain Shah, senior officials of the National Task Force, chief secretaries and officials of law enforcement agencies.