PM Shehbaz launches new anti-polio drive ‘with renewed zeal and focus’

ISLAMABAD: The incumbent government on Wednesday launched a new anti-polio campaign with a renewed zeal and focus after the country reported the third case of 2022.

PM Shehbaz while announcing the drive wrote on Twitter, “there is a complete synergy of thought and action among the provinces and other stakeholders to eradicate polio. A polio-free Pakistan is our national goal.”

We have launched a new anti-polio campaign with a renewed zeal & focus. There is a complete synergy of thought and action among the provinces & other stakeholders to eradicate polio. A polio-free Pakistan is our national goal.

— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) May 18, 2022

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for a concerted effort to eradicate polio from the country.

The premier informed a meeting of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication in Islamabad that the federal government will provide all feasible aid and cooperation in this respect.

Shehbaz Sharif expressed his concern about the latest polio cases reported in the country.

Read more: Pakistan reports third polio case of 2022

He stated that all parties, including federal departments, provincial governments, and international organisations, had contributed significantly to the country’s polio eradication.

The Prime Minister commended international organisations for providing technical and financial support to Pakistan’s anti-polio campaign, notably the World Health Organization and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Three instances of polio were reported in North Waziristan in April and May of this year, the meeting further informed.

Twenty-five districts in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been identified as being at high risk of poliovirus transmission. Between February 2021 and March 2022, no cases of polio were reported.

Read more: Bill Gates, COAS discuss Pakistan’s resolve for comprehensive Polio eradication

The Prime Minister instructed provincial governments to devote all of their resources to the anti-polio effort.

He stated that all stakeholders must work together with renewed vigour and desire to eradicate the virus.