Islamabad, 07 August 2012;
President Asif Ali Zardari while reiterating firm commitment of the Government to eradicate polio from the country has called for active participation of all the segments of society in complementing Government’s efforts to eradicate Polio from the country.
This he said during his meeting with Dr. Ala Alwan, Regional Director WHO, Eastern Mediterranean Region here at Aiwan-e-Sadr today.
Dr. Ala Alwan was accompanied by Dr. Hamid Jafari; Director Global Polio Eradication Initiative, Dr. Sumayya, Acting WHO Representative Pakistan and Dr. Elias Durry, WHO Senior Coordinator for Polio Eradication.
Ambassador for Polio Eradication Ms. Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Makdoom Amin Faheem, Mir Hazar Khan Bijarani, Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar, Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Sector / Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chairperson, President’s Polio Oversight Committee and Member, National Task Force on polio, Mr. Aziz Memon, Chairman, Polio Plus Committee, Rotary International, Secretary to the President Maj (R) Haroon Rashid and other senior officials were present during the meeting.
Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the President commended the role and contribution of national and international partners, including the WHO to eradicate polio form the country and welcomed Dr. Ala Alwan who has especially come to Pakistan to attend the 4th Meeting of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication.
The President while reiterating the commitment of the Government for Polio-eradication said that the efforts to make Pakistan a Polio-free place were continuation of the mission of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto who initiated the campaign by administering polio drops first to her own daughter Aseefa Bhutto Zardari.
He said that the National Emergency Action Plan, initiated by the present Government, focuses greater ownership, oversight and accountability at the Federal, Provincial, District and UC levels besides strategies to ensure access in to security compromised areas so that every eligible child is administered the polio vaccine.
He said that the Chief Ministers in the provinces were keeping an eye on the campaign through Special Monitoring Cells in their offices and inaugurating every campaign. The Provinces have instituted a system of zero tolerance for inefficacy and negligence in this regard, the President added.
Discussing various measures being taken in some of the difficult areas with regards to Polio vaccination campaigns, the President noted the formation of special civil-military co-ordination committees for this purposed and said that the situation can be tackled by employing localized solution and in accordance with local traditions and norms.
He said that the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and FATA authorities have been advised to make every effort to step up the campaign in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and to restore polio campaigns in those parts of the tribal areas where its was interrupted. He said that a new transit strategy has also been introduced by the Government to cover children moving out of and in to FATA through Special Polio teams. More than fifty transit points have been established to reach these children.
The Spokesperson said that the Pakistan was one of the three countries where the polio virus was still left. It was recently reportedly by some international bodies that Polio virus has been found in Quetta, Qila Abdullah, Pishin and Karachi.
He quoted the President as saying that the Government was conscious of some recent instances casting adverse impacts on Polio eradication campaign and said that the Government braced itself to counter this new challenge.
Polio Ambassador Ms. Aseefa Bhutto Zardari informed the meeting about her decision to visit the reluctant parents so as to convince them about the benefits of immunizing their children with the polio vaccines. She said that struggle against polio was a common cause that demanded concerted effort from all segments of society for the complete eradication of the Polio menace.
Ms. Aseefa also said that as the Polio was infectious and potentially fatal also, safe heaven for Polio virus must be neutralized immediately to prevent the outbreak of the disease. She said that since the disease spreads easily, efforts must be made to prevent it through vaccination.
While referring to an untoward incident that took place in Gadap area of Karachi, the President condemned the incident and reiterated the commitment of the Government to provide security to the health workers. He said that the Sindh Government has already been directed to take strict action against these involved in the attack on WHO doctor and to provide security to the international health teams. The President said that Joint Interrogation Team has been constituted to probe into the matter and expressed the hope that the culprits would be brought to justice.
Ms. Shahnaz Wazir Ali, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Social Sector / Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, also briefed the meeting on various anti polio measures taken recently by the Government and on overcoming the challenges thrown in the way by some extremist elements.
Dr. Ala Alwan thanked the President for meeting and assured continued support of WHO to the country in its efforts to eradicate Polio from its soil.
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