Eradication campaign: Clerics aiding anti-polio efforts, says Zardari

Polio vaccination booths set up at 56 transit points as part of transit strategy for children of tribal areas.

ISLAMABAD: The government has brought local political and religious leaders on board to aid polio eradication efforts in formerly inaccessible areas in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas, President Asif Ali Zardari told representatives from international partners in the fight against polio on Saturday.

A delegation comprising representatives from Unicef, WHO, Rotary International and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation called on the president at Aiwan-e-Sadr to discuss recently reported polio cases in the country and steps to combat the virus.

According to a press release, the delegates were also informed about the new transit strategy for children moving in and out of the tribal areas.

In an earlier meeting on polio eradication, President Zardari had suggested that permanent booths be set up at transit points in all provinces after it came to light that many children did not receive polio vaccines due to movement between areas. Special polio teams have been constituted since then while booths have been set up at as many as 56 transit points, the delegates were told.

The delegates were also told that the number of polio cases reported this year were less than last year.