Bill Gates hopeful about ending polio for good

Billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates on Friday said he was encouraged by Pakistan’s commitment to eradicate polio and optimistic that the crippling disease would be brought to an end.

A day after a brief visit to the country, Gates, the co-founder of the Microsoft and co-chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, took to Twitter to express his gratitude to Prime Minister Imran Khan “for the productive discussions on the steps being taken in Pakistan to eliminate polio”. “I’m encouraged by the country’s commitment to eradication and am optimistic that if everyone remains vigilant, we can #endpolio,” he added.

“It has been over a year since wild polio paralyzed a child in Pakistan, presenting an incredible opportunity to stop this disease for good.” Gates further wrote that he had traveled to Pakistan to learn from their polio programme leaders.

On Thursday, Gates, during his first-ever visit to the country, had attended a meeting of the National Task Force for Polio Eradication, with PM Imran in the chair. The premier thanked the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its continued support to Pakistan for polio eradication.

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

During the meeting, PM Imran had reiterated the government’s commitment to eradicate polio. He had said Afghanistan, being the primary source of polio incidence in the country’s two bordering provinces, required urgent international support to avert a humanitarian crisis, including health emergency. He had added that Pakistan was providing full support to 40 million Afghan people, who were in need of basic amenities. He had 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, Gates was briefed about the government’s flagship Ehsaas programmes and its focus on data, digitisation, and transparency as key drivers.

Gates had termed Ehsaas “a state of the art programme”, according to a separate press release. Dr Nishtar had 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.
Gates had 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 had 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 had highlighted the significant impact of recent synergies between the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) and the Polio Eradication Programme during routine vaccination campaigns.