Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said that the government was taking every possible measure to protect Pakistan’s children from the debilitating disease of polio and secure their future.
Reaffirming Pakistan’s commitment to achieving a polio-free future, the prime minister emphasized that polio eradication remained a key national priority and urged all stakeholders to further intensify their collective efforts.
He was talking to a delegation of Polio Oversight Board, which called on him at the PM House.
The delegation included Mike McGovern, Chair of Rotary’s Polio Oversight Board; Chris Elias, President of Global Development at the Gates Foundation; Dr Hanan Balkhy, Regional Director of WHO EMRO; and representatives from UNICEF, Gavi, and other partners supporting Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts.
The prime minister welcomed the delegation and thanked all partners for their continued cooperation with the Government of Pakistan in the fight against polio.
He directed that special attention be given to polio hotspots in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and called for the adoption of an effective strategy to address the challenge.
The prime minister expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Rotary International, the Gates Foundation, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and all other partners for their valuable contributions to Pakistan’s polio eradication campaign.
He also commended the Federal Minister for National Health Services, the Minister of State for Health, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication, the National Polio Coordinator, and all members of the government team for their dedicated efforts in combating polio.
The delegation praised the Government of Pakistan’s effective measures toward achieving a polio-free Pakistan and lauded the Prime Minister for the significant progress made.
The meeting was also attended by Federal Minister for National Health Syed Mustafa Kamal, Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, and other senior government officials.