Minister urges team work to curb polio

With as many as 22 polio cases reported in the province so far this year, the provincial health minister on Friday warned officials that no excuses will be tolerated in eradicating the crippling disease and that relevant departments must coordinate on immunisation drives for an effective outcome.

This was stated by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Health and Finance Minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra on Friday whilst chairing a meeting of district health officers (DHOs) to review arrangements for the upcoming polio eradication drive in the province at the Emergency Operations Centre in Peshawar.

Addressing the meeting, the provincial health minister pointed to how the disease has been wiped out from around the globe, including some African countries with far poorer socio-economic indicators than those of Pakistan, adding that the disease is affecting children and leaving them crippled for life.

The minister said that he will not tolerate any discrepancies in the programme and instructed all relevant departments to work together with teamwork to eradicate the poliovirus from the province.

Jhagra directed the DHOs to fill gaps which were creating hurdles in eradicating polio from their respective districts and to act against complacent elements who are misreporting.

K-P Health Secretary Syed Imtiaz Shah underscored the need for dedicated efforts at all levels.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2020.