Imran Khan says eradication of the polio virus is vital nation
Prime Minister Imran Khan urged the nation to join the government’s polio eradication attempts to ensure uninterrupted national economic development and for building an optimistic image of Pakistan. Addressing the launching ceremony of the National Immunisation Campaign, the Imran Khan said that eradication of the polio virus was vital for both the children as well as the future of the nation. During the three-day drive starting on December 16, almost 39.6 million children would be vaccinated across the country by around 260,000 vaccinators. The campaign is being held in what is called the low season in which the virus usually weakens because of winter and is eliminated through such vaccination drives.
The prime minister, who earlier also administered polio drops to children, advised mothers having children of up to 5-year age, to approach vaccination centres personally in case they have been missed by vaccination teams. Primer said unluckily the country was among two countries still infected with the polio virus globally. Terming the polio workers heroes, he said they had sacrificed a lot in their endeavour to purge the country of the polio virus. They had been killed by militants and also braved harsh weather situations and visited risky areas to vaccinate children, he added. The prime minister told the gathering that the spread of polio virus in the country could have serious repercussions, mainly for workers going abroad for earning, besides discouraging tourists to visit the country. Imran Khan said with the national economy getting stability, growing exports and enriching Pakistan’s positive outlook, it was essential to eradicate polio to continue the pace of national development.
The prime minister also thanked donors for extending their cooperation to Pakistan in its course of becoming a polio-free nation.
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Polio eradication initiative program
According to Planning and Development Division, during 2019-2021 Pakistan will invest US $ 347.22 million (PKR 46.8 billion) for polio eradication activities. Vaccine procurement and social mobilization is undertaken by UNICEF while WHO incurs expenditures on operational activities and environmental surveillance. 2nd Revision of the PC-I has been in principle approved in the CDWP meeting dated 03-01-2019. Through polio eradication efforts, a substantial investment has been made in strengthening health service delivery systems in Pakistan. Thousands of health workers have been trained, hundreds of volunteers have been mobilized to support immunization campaigns, and cold-chain transport equipment has been refurbished. Consequently, Polio incidence has almost been eradicated in Pakistan. It is evident that during calendar year 2011 there were total 198 polio cases that were reduced to 12 in 2018 and during first quarter of 2019, 02 cases in Punjab, 01 case in Sindh, 03 cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 3 cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Tribal District ( KPTD) are observed. No doubt, Pakistan has made important progress towards eradications polio in the country. Case numbers are at the lowest and the immunity gaps continued to decline. However, in high-risk areas of Pakistan, unvaccinated children remain vulnerable. An array of approaches and tools are being used to bring Pakistan to the finishing line, including tailoring vaccination approaches to children in high-risk mobile populations, emergency operations centers to coordinate the program effectively and a National Emergency Action Plan with a strong accountability framework, improved surveillance, fewer unvaccinated children and fewer strains of the virus. Pakistan has a real opportunity to end transmission this year, but it must remain focused on reaching children in high-risk areas of the country, increase and enhance surveillance quality, and conduct high-quality campaigns to close immunity gaps. Also critical to success will be working together with Afghanistan in fighting the virus. The remaining strongholds of wild poliovirus transmission are in areas linking the two countries, and country programs are jointly focused on improving the quality of immunization activities and surveillance in these areas.