Tag: polio free

  • Poliovirus detected in sewage samples from 7 cities in Pakistan

    Pakistan’s federal authorities have confirmed the presence of the poliovirus in seven cities after samples were collected from various cities in the country. The presence of the poliovirus was confirmed in the samples collected from Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Bannu, Nowshera and Swat.

    Lahore and Islamabad were declared polio-free in April 2021.

    Federal Minister for Health Abdul Qadir Patel said in a statement that the government was committed to eradicating polio and had established a strategy to do so.

    “We have been taking steps to control the virus in seven cities that have reported positive environmental samples. I appeal to the parents to make sure that their children are vaccinated during every polio campaign,” said Qadir Patel.

    Read more – Shehbaz Sharif, Bill Gates discuss anti-polio campaign

    In order to raise awareness about the virus, the health ministry also solicited collaboration with civil society, religious scholars, academics and the media.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

  • Bill Gates reaches Pakistan on first-ever visit

    Bill Gates reaches Pakistan on first-ever visit

    Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), has arrived in Pakistan for a one-day visit. Gates will meet with Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi. He will also visit the National Command and Operation Centre headquarters. Gates will pay a visit to the COVID-19 treatment facility in Chak Shahzad.

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, in a tweet, said, “It’s a pleasure to welcome Mr Bill Gates on his first-ever visit to Pakistan. Planned engagements include a review of progress on polio eradication; visits to NCOC and Ehsaas program as well as meeting the President, the PM and health leadership of the provinces.”

    Last year in October, Gates, in a telephonic conversation with Imran Khan, praised Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate polio and at the same time, pledged his continued support against the disease so that no child in Pakistan is affected by the disease in the future.

  • Pakistan to mark one year polio-free

    Pakistan to mark one year polio-free

    Pakistan will mark one year of being polio-free tomorrow. The last infection of the poliovirus in Pakistan was recorded on January 27, 2021, according to officials, and Friday marks the first time in Pakistan’s history that a year has passed with no new cases, reports AFP.

    Lahore became the first polio-free city in the country back in April 2021.

    A five-day anti-polio campaign kicked off on Monday all over Pakistan. About 150,000 health workers are taking part in the five-day anti-polio drive to inoculate 22.4 million children under five years of age, according to a statement issued by Shahzad Beg, the coordinator for polio programme. 

    Hamid Khan, a police constable who was escorting polio vaccinators, was martyred in a terrorist attack in Kohat on Tuesday.

    Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio has not yet been eradicated. To formally eradicate the disease, a nation must be polio-free for three consecutive years. Nigeria was declared free from wild polio in August 2020.

  • 13 new polio cases reported in a single day in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    13 new polio cases reported in a single day in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

    In a shocking development, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 13 new cases of type 2 polio cases. This is the highest number of cases to be reported in the province in one day.

    According to the provincial health department, seven of the cases were reported from Khyber tribal district, while one case each was reported from Lakki Marwat, Bannu, Mardan, Nowshera, Bajaur and Lower Dir.

    WATCH: The Current tours Pakistan’s Polio Lab

    A senior public health specialist told a leading newspaper on condition of anonymity, that several Pakistani health specialists had raised the issues over the polio programme, but “they are either sidelined or kicked out of the programme,” also adding that the reason why the virus spreading so fast is that not every child is being reached in infected areas and the government is missing a lot of children that need to be vaccinated.

    “Pakistan has this year reported 25 cVDP2 (type 2) cases, in which Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone had a share of 24,” the report said. Type 2 polio does not cause paralysis but is debilitating. The type 2 virus was eliminated in the country in 2016 and reemerged last year.

    In 2019, Pakistan had reported 22 cases of type two polio cases, including 16 from KP. These were apart from type one polio cases in 2020, which are 29 in the country and 15 in KP.

    “It is a money-driven programme and huge salaries and incentives are being taken by the consultants at the top level. Unfortunately, some people in the programme are very influential and answerable to none and they set their agenda ignoring local needs and requirements,” he maintained, according to The News.

    Another senior official said that after working with the polio programme for many years, he realises that the elimination of polio is not a priority.