PESHAWAR – The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Government has reiterated its pledge to eradicate polio from the province and Fata by the year 2013.
It was resolved in a meeting co-presided over by the Chief Secretary Ghulam Dastagir Akhtar and member National Task Force, MNA Asma Arbab Alamgir. Another member of the Task Force, Senator Rubina Khalid, IG Police, Secretary Information and Culture, Azmat Hanif Orakzai, Secretary Health, Secretary Home, CCPO, all Divisional Commissioners, DCOs, representatives of UNICEF and WHO participated.
The meeting thoroughly discussed the polio campaigns so far conducted as well as the cases of polio affectees reported both in the province and Fata. Conscience of the fact that polio has been eradicated from almost all countries of the world except Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan and even this year 45 such cases had been reported here on the one hand and on the other, despite a few hardships but parents throughout the province and Fata were fully cooperating with the government agencies to eradicate this menace.
The participants of the meeting appreciated the support of ulema (Religious Leaders), politicians and elders from throughout the country to the campaigns.
It was decided in the meeting that the catch up campaigns for the left-over children will be conducted in the province on local basis before the end of this year while arrangements for the National Immunization Campaign for the year 2013 were also dealt with. It was resolved at the meeting that the KP government will conduct the National Immunisation Campaigns as per the schedule of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication.
On a query from some of the participants it was revealed that the Government of Pakistan has got loan through WHO and UNICEF from the Islamic Development Bank to meet the expenditures on polio eradication.