- Pakistan reports 26 polio cases this year.
- Most cases reported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
- Poliovirus detected in wastewater samples of 127 districts.
Pakistan launches the New Nationwide Anti-Polio campaign on September 1 in three provinces, while the Punjab campaign starts on September 10th.
Federal Minister for National Healthcare, Regulations and Coordination Syed Mustafa Kamal, accompanied by MQM Pakistan leader Anis Qaimkhani, held a press conference at his camp office in Karachi on Friday regarding the upcoming nationwide polio-charged and flooding situation in Pakistan.
He approached the press and said the poliovirus has been detected in wastewater samples of 127 districts across the country, including all districts in Karachi.
He said that out of the 26 reported cases this year was 16 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with 13 cases coming out of southern KP, where security challenges had hindered vaccination efforts.
Meanwhile, the National Emergency Operations Center (Neoc) has exposed the polio vaccination campaign in nine districts in Punjab due to the ongoing flooding situation.
The campaign has been postponed in Lahore, Sheikhupura, Kasur, Okara, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Multan, Muzaffargarh and Bahawalpur. Meanwhile, Polio Drive continues as planned in Rawalpindi, Mianwali, Faisalabad and Dera Ghazi Khan.
In Attock, Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan, the vaccination campaign continues as planned.
Kamal, who highlights the seriousness of the situation, said: “The only solution to protect children from polio is repeated administration of polio drops. All religious scholars and mattresses have declared the vaccine in safety, and we must depolit the fight against polio. Afghanistan and Pakistan perform synchronized polio -drives and with joint efforts we will soon remove the country about this cracked disease.”
The Minister of Health further emphasized that parents in Karachi show the highest resistance to polio vaccination. He noticed that door to door campaigns is underway throughout Pakistan.
Kamal, who approached the flood situation in the country, said the government has responded to all requirements for medicine and medical devices from flooded areas. He said federal and provincial governments are in constant coordination while a command and control room has been established at the National Institute of Health (NIH) to monitor the situation. He added that NDMA team is in close contact with the Ministry of Health.
Kamal emphasized that natural disasters cannot be handled by provincial or federal governments alone and called for the strengthening of the local government system, which he called the most effective mechanism of disaster management.
“Our country works under provincial and federal structures, but disasters of such size cannot be controlled without authorized local bodies. We need administrative reforms and the creation of new units on administrative reasons, not to divide the country, but to strengthen the government and secure delivery at the grassroots level.”
The minister added that although the provinces received RS 8,700 billion collectively, there is no mechanism to ensure that resources herd down to the lowest level. He called for transparent planning and efficient use of funds.
