ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Gates Foundation Bill Gates appreciated Pakistan’s anti-polio efforts and expressed satisfaction with the increased vaccination rates in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
Virtually participating in a crucial anti-polio review meeting held in Karachi, attended by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Dr. Chris Elias, President of Global Development, Mr Gates also highlighted the Pakistan government's plan to administer the inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV) to 4 million children as a positive development.
Addressing the meeting, PM Sharif reaffirmed his commitment to eradicating polio from Pakistan by 2025 through a collaborative effort involving federal and provincial governments, as well as the administrations of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The PM emphasized the government's resolve to eliminate the deadly virus. Under Prime Minister Sharif’s leadership, all provincial governments, along with the federal units of Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, pledged their full cooperation in this mission.
The PM thanked the Gates Foundation for its exceptional support to Pakistan's healthcare system, particularly in polio prevention, and extended his gratitude to other partners involved in the anti-polio effort.
"We are committed to eradicating this deadly virus by 2025," the prime minister said, directing that all available resources be utilized for the complete eradication of polio, including administering multiple vaccine doses to every child in Pakistan.
He also stressed the importance of ensuring that children in areas with security challenges receive the polio vaccine.
The meeting also reviewed recent developments in the anti-polio campaign, including the reporting of new polio cases in Qila Abdullah and Chakwal districts. Quetta and Karachi divisions were identified as major centers of poliovirus spread.
Improvements in the anti-polio monitoring system and progress in coordinating with Afghanistan to prevent the virus's spread were also reported. The meeting outlined plans for a nationwide polio vaccination campaign scheduled for September, October, and December 2024.