23 polio cases in Balochistan this year stir concern
“Frontline workers are the real heroes and the backbone of the polio eradication program in Pakistan. They go from home to home to administer polio drops that are given to all children under the age of 5. The frontline workers fulfill their duties in the harshest conditions in order to make Pakistan a polio-free country. World Polio Day is celebrated to raise awareness about polio and the eradication of this disease through immunization”.
Mir Zahoor Ahmed Buledi, Minister for Finance Balochistan, said this while addressing an event to pay tribute to the polio workers in Quetta. He said that the entire society salutes the polio workers for their dedication to the cause.
He also mentioned that even with the ongoing pandemic and the pre-existing problems that polio workers face which include the ever so present threat to their lives, polio workers across Balochistan have been performing their duties with absolute commitment and have proved that they are devoted to the cause of eradicating polio from Pakistan, which will benefit our future generations.
Rashid Razzaq, coordinator Emergency Operation Center & Polio Workers, attended the gathering as well. Mir Zahoor Buledi, in his address also referred to the increasing number of polio cases and said that the 23 new reported cases of polio in the province are a matter of grave concern for the government and to combat the virus successively a new strategy must be devised.
The minister added that polio remains endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan and until its transmission is substantially interrupted, the entire world remains at risk of importation of polio especially the countries with weak public health systems and immunization services.
Polio is a potentially fatal disease that has no cure but there are safe and effective vaccines available for the virus, children are vaccinated more than once, before the age of 5, which provides protection and immunization. World Polio Day is commemorated annually on October 24, as a reminder to eradicate Polio through immunization in every child around the world. World Polio Day aims to increase awareness about the polio virus and to encourage further action to reduce it from spreading.
The commemoration of the day also highlights the success of global strategies in reducing the spread of the disease.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2020.