HARIPUR:
The polio vaccine does not have harmful effects on human fertility and this is just propaganda unleashed by misinformed elements, said Maulana Waseeur Reham, Country Consultant for National Research and Development Foundation (NRDF) while addressing a news conference here on Tuesday. He was accompanied by NRDF District Coordinator Muhammad Ishaq, and Mutahida Ulema Council Pakistan Chairman Maulana Qazi Ghulam Mujtaba.
According to Maulana Waseeur Rehman, 146 new cases of polio were reported last year from across the country, while in 2011, the number fell to 91, 26 of which were from FATA and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Maulana Waseeur Rehman said that scientific research that no ingredient of the vaccine can affect fertility in a negative manner. Furthermore, due to these misleading campaigns, some European countries have threatened to ban the entry of Pakistani citizens if the country fails to ensure proper polio control.
He stated that since the disease is incurable and can cast a negative impact on the national economy and public health, the Ulema (religious scholars) must mobilise and motivate the general public on the necessity of polio vaccination.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 28th, 2011.
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