Polio eradication: Advisory group for maintaining quality of drive

Also hail Pakistan’s current performance of the last six months

ISLAMABAD: The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Polio Eradication while appreciating Pakistan’s performance in eradicating polio virus has called for focusing on improving the overall performance of the drive.

At the conclusion of its two-day meeting in Islamabad, the TAG urged to reach out the children who have missed polio drops besides indentifying residual risk areas to act swiftly.

Pakistan presented a comprehensive picture of the epidemiological situation across the country, indicating that the initiatives and strategies employed show the country was moving on the right path.

“I have never been so optimistic about the ability to interrupt transmission of polio virus in Pakistan and there are always going to be challenges and surprises as we draw closer to eradication, but we learn from surprises,” TAG Chairperson Jean Marc Olive said while appreciating the progress made by Pakistan in eradicating poliovirus over the past six months

World Health Organisation Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Dr Ala Alwan said that reviews and recommendations of the technical consultation panel have come at a very critical juncture just before the last lap of the race.



“The finishing line is in sight but we have to travel at a faster pace to timely reach and cross the line. But more than the accomplishments and achievements, we must look at the gaps to be filled and this is what is going to be the decider for success or failure,” he said.

“Polio eradication was one of the top priorities in this region and this was a turning point in the global struggle against polio,” Dr Alwan said. “The epidemiological situation is the best ever achieved now. There is no doubt that there is improvement in performance and with the impressive government ownership of the programme, I think we can say that much of the remaining challenge is operational,” he said.

Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq said the programme was resolutely focused on stopping persistent transmission in the core reservoirs. This was being done by building on gains made to boost immunity gaps and to continue to aggressively respond to any sign of virus transmission across the country as evidenced by our current efforts in northern Sindh and southern Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, she said. “I must also acknowledge the unblemished support that we are getting from the international community including our friendly governments as well as donors and partner agencies including WHO, UNICEF, Gates Foundation, Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and Rotary International. We would be expecting an even more efficient fuelling from these organisations during the next two and a half years,” Farooq said.

Minister for National Health Services Regulations and Coordination Saira Afzal Tarar said that low transmission season efforts that “we started in September 2015 finally came to an end in May 2016. She said the programme made significant progress due to personal oversight of the prime minister and his focus group on polio eradication that brings together country’s top leadership.

“We fully understand the fact that Pakistan and Afghanistan are the last two endemic countries and the global community looks towards these two countries to deliver,” Tarar said.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1^st, 2016.