Polio eradication: Scholars, media urged to play positive role

K-P Minister for Health urges religious scholars and media to play role in raising awareness.

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Minister for Health Syed Zahir Ali Shah on Monday urged religious scholars and the media to play effective roles in raising awareness about polio and helping to curtail the crippling disease. He was addressing a workshop organised by Extended Program on Immunisation (EPI) Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapters here at a local hotel.

Syed Zahir Ali Shah said that polio was a national issue and the provincial government was utilising all its channels to combat the disease.

The PPP govt and its allied parties declared 2011 as polio eradication year, he said, adding that President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani were taking personal interest in the polio eradication campaign.

He argued that religious scholars and media can play vital roles in the anti-polio drive through their mediums by raising awareness about precautionary measures and treatment of the disease.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 1^st, 2011.