'Everyone must contribute to a polio-free society’

Chief minister lauds services of vaccinators

LAHORE:

Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has asserted that everyone must contribute to establishing a polio-free society at all cost.

 The chief minister expressed these views in his message on the World Polio Day.

 "We pledge to eradicate this disease," for future generations, he added.

 Requesting the parents to give their children anti-polio drops, he said, “I salute the polio workers working as vanguards in this war.

" He noted that a special campaign to eradicate polio had started in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Mianwali, Khushab, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Layyah, Multan, Muzaffargarh, Rahim Yar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts.

 The campaign will continue for seven days in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad, and for five days in the other districts.

 No polio case has been reported in Punjab for a long time, but the virus has been found in the environment of Lahore and Rawalpindi.

 The presence of the poliovirus is a warning to parents to give their children two doses of the polio vaccine during each campaign, he concluded.

 Also on Monday, the chief minister appointed Rai Mansab Ali Khan as Chairman of the CM's Complaint Cell for South Punjab and Makhdoom Altaf Babar as Coordinator.

 Meanwhile, French Ambassador Nicolas Galey and Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi agreed on Monday to promote bilateral cooperation in the fields of education, tourism, protection of historical places and information technology.

 Speaking to the ambassador who had called on him, the chief minister stressed the need to promote trade and economic relations between the two countries on a sustainable basis.