Islamabad, (Samajweekly) A high-level delegation of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has concluded an official visit to Pakistan to review the strategies in place for vaccinating children that remain unreached in the polio-endemic districts of the country’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, Pakistani Health Ministry said.
During the four-day visit, the delegates visited the National and Provincial Emergency Operations Centers and attended a meeting of the National Task Force on Polio Eradication, while holding separate meetings with the top officials where they discussed the impact of political transition on eradication efforts in the affected areas, the Ministry said on Saturday in a statement.
“Pakistan continues to make important progress in the fight to eradicate polio. I am impressed by the commitment I have seen again this week from the federal and provincial governments in getting the job done,” said Chris Elias, Chair of the Polio Oversight Board, the highest decision-making and oversight body of the GPEI.
The experience globally is that strong government leadership is key in the final push to defeat polio, Elias was quoted as saying in a statement, Xinhua news agency reported.
Endemic transmission of wild poliovirus remains restricted to seven districts in the south of KP, the statement said, adding that a vaccination campaign is ongoing in the seven endemic districts named “Reaching the Unreached”.
“The campaign specifically targets over 270,000 children aged under five years in 69 low-performing union councils where vaccine coverage for polio and other essential immunisation has been inadequate,” said the Ministry.
