Popular support needed to eradicate polio: CM

LAHORE:

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif directed health services officials on Wednesday to use all resources at their disposal to polio virus following a directive by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

The prime minister had previously urged all chief ministers to implement the polio action plan in a letter. A cabinet committee for the eradication of polio has been constituted following the chief minister’s directive. Adviser to Chief Minister on Health Khwaja Salman Rafique would chair the committee. He would also be the committee’s co-convener.

The committee has been constituted to take steps to eradicate polio. The committee will meet twice a month to monitor progress on the polio action plan and present a report to the chief minister. Sharif said the polio action plan should be effectively implemented and a strategy should be formulated in this regard.

He said routine and special anti-polio campaigns should be continued to eradicate the virus and ensure that every child was inoculated. Sharif stressed the need to take coordinated action to eradicate the virus and bequeath a polio-free environment to the next generation. He said the spread of the virus would be checked with the same diligence and commitment as that shown towards control of dengue fever.

The chief minister said the government was striving to make Pakistan polio-free and protect the nation’s children from the debilitating disease. He said all departments should resolve to eradicate polio in a collaborative fashion.

Sharif said it was imperative for all segment of society to appreciate the government’s polio eradication.

He said it was mandatory for them to assist it in this regard. Sharif said the role of parents, religious leaders and non-governmental organisations was crucial in this regard. He said religious leaders should stress the need for eradicating polio in their sermons. The chief minister said public representatives and non-governmental organisations should complement the government’s efforts.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2014.