Bill Gates pleased with polio eradication efforts

Billionaire philanthropist meets President, PM during his first-ever visit to country

ISLAMABAD:

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Thursday expressed satisfaction with the quality and impact of the polio eradication programme in Pakistan and reaffirmed his continued commitment to fight the crippling disease.

Gates, the co-founder of the Microsoft and co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, arrived in Pakistan on a day-long visit during which he met President Dr Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan and top government functionaries.

During the first-ever visit to the country, Gates attended a meeting of the National Task Force for Polio Eradication, with Prime Minister Imran in the chair. Imran thanked the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its continued support to Pakistan for polio eradication.

Read Bill Gates hails Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate polio, Covid-19

Speaking on the occasion, Gates thanked the prime minister for inviting him and extending warm hospitality. He said that despite Covid-19 restrictions, Pakistan “performed amazingly” and continued with polio vaccinations.

During the meeting, Imran reiterated the government’s commitment to eradicate polio. He said that Afghanistan being the primary source of polio incidence in the country’s two bordering provinces, required urgent international support to avert humanitarian crisis, including health emergency.

He added that Pakistan was providing full support to 40 million Afghan people, who were in need of basic amenities. He directed the deputy commissioners of the districts adjoining Afghanistan, particularly southern districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to remain vigilant against polio virus.

The meeting was informed earlier that Pakistan had completed one year of zero polio incidence. However, the virus had been detected in environmental samples in southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Earlier, during a separate meeting with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Senator Dr Sania Nishtar, Bill Gates was briefed about the government’s flagship Ehsaas programmes and its focus on data, digitisation, and transparency as key drivers.

Gates termed Ehsaas “a state of the art programme”, according to a separate press release. Dr Nishtar thanked the dignitary for his appreciation of Ehsaas and his support, it added. Ehsaas programmes and initiatives are end-to-end digitised, reducing human discretion and exploitation.

Read More: PM, Bill Gates pledge to continue cooperation in Covid, polio fight

Gates also visited the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) and received a briefing on the successes and challenges of the polio eradication programme, according to a press release. NEOC Coordinator Dr Shahzad Baig provided a detailed programme overview to the visiting dignitary.

Gates was informed about the Covid-19 and polio prevention measures being taken in the country. Dr Baig highlighted the significant impact of recent synergies between the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and the Polio Eradication Programme during routine vaccination campaigns.

Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan highlighted the contributions of the federal and provincial governments, polio staff, and frontline health care workers for reaching eligible children during the routine vaccination campaigns in the country.

It is a pleasure to welcome Mr Bill Gates on his first ever visit to Pakistan. Planned engagements include review of progress on polio eradication; visits to NCOC and Ehsaas program as well as meeting the President, the PM and health leadership of the provinces.

— Faisal Sultan (@fslsltn) February 17, 2022

“We are focused on building the capacity of district government-led teams, especially in high-risk areas of South KP [Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa] to provide leadership in identifying challenges, designing, and implementing corrective actions to reach the goal of polio-free Pakistan,” Dr Sultan added.

Gates expressed satisfaction with the polio eradication programme in Pakistan. “Pakistan has made considerable progress, and to achieve desirable results, it is pertinent to continue with the strategic and targeted approach in the coming months,” Gates said.

Gates also met Planning Minister Asad Umar, who heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) – the nerve centre of the country’s fight against Covid-19 pandemic. The visiting dignitary and his delegation also attended the NCOC’s morning session.

Hosted @BillGates at the NCOC this morning. Shared with him the work which has been done for covid response in Pakistan and the role played by @OfficialNcoc. Thanked him for the support provided by the @gatesfoundation. He was appreciative of the covid response effort in Pakistan pic.twitter.com/pasYqnJ2gq

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) February 17, 2022

He was apprised of the NCOC’s role, methodology and achievements since the start of the pandemic and the current pandemic situation in the country, including various non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) implemented by the forum to control the spread of the coronavirus.

“A comprehensive review of Pakistan’s efforts against Covid-19 was presented to the visiting delegation. The visiting delegation was also briefed about genome sequencing – the prevalence of various variants in the country,” said an NCOC statement.

Umar acknowledged the efforts of Gates and his foundation to support Covid-19 initiatives in Pakistan. Gates appreciated Pakistan’s success against Covid-19 despite resource constraints and introducing excellent initiatives and measures for public health safety, it added.

Gates, according to the statement, took keen interest in various initiatives by the forum, particularly the smart lockdown and micro-smart lockdown strategy. He also shared his views on Covid-19, particularly the vaccination drive.

Later, the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation visited the Aiwan-e-Sadr and called on President Alvi. The president conferred Hilal-e-Pakistan on Gates in recognition of his meritorious services to the people of Pakistan, particularly for the eradication of polio.

LIVE #APPNews : President Dr. Arif Alvi conferring the award of "Hilal-e-Pakistan" on William H. Gates alias Bill Gates, co-chair Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, at a special investiture ceremony #Islamabadhttps://t.co/VwAI3OeWzq

— APP 🇵🇰 (@appcsocialmedia) February 17, 2022