Pakistan govt uses truck art to increase polio awareness

The Pakistani government is adopting a unique approach to create public awareness against polio—using locally produced truck art to help stop transmission of the crippling virus.

Addressing the launching ceremony of a new anti-polio drive on Friday, Federal Minister for National Health Services Abdul Qadir Patel said the government would print public service messages in local languages on trucks traveling on routes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Afghanistan to educate the population.

He said that truck art was a unique and deep-rooted part of Pakistan’s cultural heritage, which "will be now used for a cause to eradicate polio through educating people in high-risk areas".

He said that various attractive and persuasive messages about polio and the importance of vaccination would be printed on trucks in the local languages spoken in the four provinces for a clear understanding of the general public.

Also read: Polio campaign concludes in 39 districts

“We are working to prepare a comprehensive strategy for the complete eradication of polio from the country. For this purpose, all available resources will be utilized,” Qadir Patel said.

He said, “Although, there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this disease. Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased".

He said that repeated immunisations had protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio-free, besides Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Patel said, “The only way to stop the virus is to vaccinate all children under the age of five. It is critically important that parents and caregivers, particularly in high-risk areas, ensure that their child is vaccinated.”

“Timely detection of the virus in the environment is crucial in order to protect children from being paralyzed by the polio virus,” he said.