‘Work together to eradicate polio’

LAHORE:

Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique on Tuesday said some places in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh were problem areas where a total of 117 polio cases had been reported.

He said polio eradication was essential to save people from permanent disability and there was a need for consolidated efforts by all provincial governments to eradicate polio virus. “This virus is transferred from one place to another through movement of people and migration of populations,” he said.

He said complete eradication of polio was not possible through efforts of a single province.

He said an anti-polio campaign was being carried out in the Punjab. He said only one polio case had been reported in the Punjab this year. Rafique said genetic analysis of the virus showed that it was identical to the virus found in Landhi, Karachi.He was addressing newsmen after administering polio drops to children of Mozang on the third day of the anti-polio campaign.

Health Director Munir Ahmed and Health EDO Dr Zulfiqar were also present.

Rafique said a polio vaccination campaign be launched in Attock, Chakwal, Jhelum, Khushab, Mianwali, Rawalpindi, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Khanewal, Lodhran and Vehari early in September. He said the government had set a target of vaccination of 600,000 children of Lahore. He said people who had been unable to get their children vaccinated could catch up with the mobile teams of the Health Department on Thursday (today). Rafique said the Punjab government would continue its efforts for establishing a healthy society and would discharge its responsibilities for eradication of polio.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 28^th, 2014.