Nationwide anti-polio drive to begin tomorrow

Islamabad: The federal government has decided to launch the nationwide anti-polio campaign this month, reportedly Sunday.

According to details, the federal government has completely consulted with the provinces on the nationwide anti-polio campaign that will be carried out in two phases.

The first phase will take place from January 16 to January 20. While the next phase will take place from 23 of this month till January 29.

The anti-polio campaign will run in four provinces, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Azad Kashmir.

More than 40 million children aged six to 59 months will be vaccinated with Vitamin A to improve their immunity.

The nationwide anti-polio drive will target 20.42 million children in Punjab, 9.35 million in Sindh, 6.9 million in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2.53 million in Balochistan, 0.25 million in Azad Kashmir and 0.35 million children in Gilgit-Baltistan.

For this purpose 335,387 front-line workers will perform their duties in the campaign.

Meanwhile launching the anti-polio campaign in Islamabad, Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif said that unfortunately Pakistan is among the few countries where polio cases have been reported, 20 cases of polio were reported in Waziristan in a few months.

Paying rich tribute to polio workers, who laid down their lives in this fight against the epidemic, the Prime Minister said their sacrifices will be remembered in achieving the goal of a polio free Pakistan.

He also thanked all stakeholders, including Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the World Health Organization (WHO) for their cooperation and commitment to support Pakistan in eliminating the disease.

The Prime Minister, on the occasion, also distributed appreciation letters and gifts among polio workers and children.