Pakistan’s Efforts to End Polio: An Incredible but Fragile Progress
by Hamna Bano
SHARES
Islamabad: The Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks has announced an expansion in the efforts to eradicate the disease of Polio.
The decision was taken, observing a historic decline in polio cases. A major milestone was achieved on 27 January 2022 when no new polio case was reported for almost a year.
The relevant committee conducted another meeting on 9 February 2022. It was led by the Regional Director WHO Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhanri who acknowledges Pakistan’s progress against the polio disease. Pakistan’s efforts were appreciated in the presence of health ministers and their delegates from Qatar, Sudan, Egypt, UAE, Iran, and Yemen.
#Pakistan's efforts to end #polio receive global acknowledgement | @DunyaNews https://t.co/P0zHfBXifO #EndPolio #PolioFreePakistan #VaccinesWork #PublicHealth @PakFightsPolio @WHOPakistan @UNICEF_Pakistan @UNICEFpolio @drsafdar64 @fslsltn @nhsrcofficial @CoordinatorNeoc @WHOEMRO pic.twitter.com/KMaKWTDExg
— Post-Polio News (ppn) (@postpolionews) February 15, 2022
It was declared by the subcommittee that any case of poliovirus in this region will be called as ‘regional public health emergency’. The recommensement of house-to-house vaccination campaign has been assured to start again.
It was made clear by the committe that the region of Pakistan and Afghanistan has been deprived of the door-to-door vaccination campaign which prevents the access of the moset needed children.
On Tuesday, the Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr.Faisal Sultan assured that, “leaving no stone unturned in the pursuit of zero polio transmission.”
He assured that, “the country is further intensifying operations in high-risk districts and core reservoirs, closely monitoring cross-border transmission in coordination with Afghanistan, and is taking timely measures to respond to any outbreak in case of further detection of poliovirus.The government remains committed to eradicating polio virus as soon as possible.”
Currently the transmission of polio virus in Pakistan is the lowest it has ever been. Dr Ahmed Al-Madhari while talking about the fragility of the mater added that, “Wild poliovirus transmission is at a historic low in the endemic countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. The progress is remarkable, but it is fragile. The opportunity to end polio is knocking at our door, and we must seize it.”
Although the presence of wild poliovirus is still a threat increasing the risk of resurrgence in the cases.
