Cairo, 21 July 2014 ‐‐ The Islamic Advisory Group for Polio Eradication is very pleased to see the intense efforts of the Government of Pakistan to vaccinate people who have not had access to polio vaccination for two years. Health authorities in Pakistan have deployed thousands of teams to administer polio vaccines to children of internally displaced persons (IDPs) as they leave North Waziristan Agency and in host communities where such affected persons have taken temporary residence.
The Group highly appreciates this campaign and encourages authorities to take this opportunity to deliver broader health interventions, including vaccination against measles, and nutritional supplements to children of both displaced and host communities.
The IAG reiterates that “vaccination is a duty of Muslim parents and communities” as highlighted in the Islamabad Declaration and Fatwa issued by the International Ulama Conference on Polio Eradication on 15‐16 June 2014; and welcomes this initiative to protect these vulnerable children. Anti‐polio vaccines are not only supported and encouraged by all major Islamic institutions, scholars and experts but are also considered the only safe and effective means of protecting children and societies at large against this crippling and potentially fatal disease and an imperative route toward the eventual eradication of polio.
The campaign is especially welcomed since it is helping reach children who could not be previously reached for various reasons.
After a two‐day conference in Islamabad last month, more than 60 prominent Muslim scholars and medical experts reaffirmed global Islamic solidarity and support for protecting children from polio paralysis and life‐long disability.
In this blessed month of Ramadan, the International Islamic Advisory Group members pray to Allah Almighty in all sincerity for success in the polio eradication programs for all children of the world and hope to see our new generations in the best of health and happiness.
Note: The Islamic Advisory Group (IAG), inaugurated in February 2014 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is the initiative of the Saudi‐based Islamic scholarly International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA), the leading Islamic institution of learning in Egypt Al‐Azhar Al‐Sharif, the 57‐member state Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
Contact Information:
Mr Muhammad Jameel Yusha’u
Communication Division, Islamic Development Bank
Mobile: 00966‐591188844
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Ms Wessam El Hawary
IAG Secretariat
Mobile: 2 0100 8470 301
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