ISLAMABAD, 17 Feb 2022: Bill Gates, co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, visited the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) in Islamabad during his first visit to Pakistan. There, he was briefed on the successes and the challenges of the Polio eradication programme in the country and visited Operations Room and the 1166 Helpline.
Special advisor to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr Faisal Sultan, Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Amir Ashraf Khawaja, Coordinator NEOC, Dr. Dr Shahzad Baig, and Deputy Coordinator and National Programme Manager, EPI, Dr Akram Shah, accompanied him during the visit.
Bill Gates expressed satisfaction with the quality and impact of the programme and reaffirmed his continued commitment to the fight against polio. “Pakistan has made considerable progress and to achieve desirable results it is pertinent to continue with the strategic and targeted approach in the coming months,” he said.
Special advisor to the Prime Minister on Health, Dr Faisal Sultan, highlighted the contributions of the federal and provincial governments, polio staff, and frontline health care workers for reaching eligible children during the routine vaccination campaigns in the country. “We are focused on building the capacity of district government led teams, especially in high-risk areas of South KP to provide leadership in identifying challenges, design, and implement corrective actions to reach the goal of Polo-free Pakistan,” he added.
Dr Shahzad Baig, Coordinator NEOC, while providing a detailed programme overview, acknowledged the significant support of the Government for the polio eradication efforts. ‘All polio activities have been sustained under the Government management and oversight at every level, with the full commitment of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers. The programme continues to focus on designing high-quality case response campaigns to review and modify interventions to reach children who have been repeatedly missed and need to receive the vaccine to build immunity, he explained.
Dr Shahzad also mentioned the significant impact of recent synergies between the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and Polio Eradication Programme (PEI) during routine vaccination campaigns. While highlighting the current challenges of virus circulation in border areas, he shared that the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme continues to work closely with Afghanistan to stop poliovirus transmission across shared corridors and works to halt transmission amongst highly mobile population groups.
During the meeting, Bill Gates presented shields to the Provincial Coordinators to acknowledge their dedication and commitment to the polio eradication efforts in Pakistan. The meeting was attended by the Coordinators of Provincial Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) and representatives of UNICEF, WHO, BMGF and NEOC.
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Note for the Editor:
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by poliovirus mainly affecting children under the age of five years. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the most effective way to protect children from this crippling disease. Each time a child under the age of five is vaccinated, their protection against the virus is increased. Repeated immunisations have protected millions of children from polio, allowing almost all countries in the world to become polio-free.
Pakistan is one of the two polio-endemic countries in the world along with its neighbour Afghanistan.
For more information, visit our website - https://www.endpolio.com.pk
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