Stakeholders unite for polio eradication

Muhammad Azam Khan, the Caretaker Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), has reiterated the provincial government’s strong commitment to making K-P a polio-free province.

Under a well-planned strategy, concrete measures are being taken to achieve this goal. A special anti-polio drive has been launched to administer polio drops to children who are still out of coverage in the southern districts of the province.

Chief Minister Azam Khan expressed these views during a meeting with a delegation from the Polio Oversight Board (POB) at the Chief Minister House in Peshawar.

The delegation led by Chairman POB Dr Christopher Elias consisted of Regional Director WHO Dr Ahmed Al Mandhari, Acting Regional Director UNICEF Noala Skinner, Canadian High Commissioner to Pakistan Leslie Scanlon, Deputy Director Polio Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) Michael Galway, WHO Pakistan Representative Dr Palitha Mahipala and others.

The meeting revolved around discussions on various matters related to anti-polio campaigns, with a particular focus on eradicating the poliovirus from K-P, especially the southern districts.

The stakeholders reaffirmed their commitment to continue the joint struggle until the province is free from the poliovirus. They also agreed that targeted efforts should be made in specific areas of the southern districts to eliminate this menace.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2023.