Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday inaugurated a nationwide anti-poliovirus campaign aimed at furthering Pakistan’s fight against the disease, as the total number of cases reported thus far this year have climbed to 17.
Slated to be conducted in 115 districts of the country, the campaign hopes to vaccinate at least 30 million children under the age of five against the debilitating disease. It would comprise around 286,000 polio workers conducting a door-to-door campaign to administer polio drops to children from Sept. 9 to 15.
“We are grateful to the partners and friendly international organizations cooperating with the government in the fight against polio,” said Sharif, hoping that the federal government, provincial governments and other partners would succeed in eradicating polio from the country.
“Our efforts to eliminate polio from Pakistan will certainly bear fruit, Insha’Allah,” he said, while paying tribute to the efforts of federal and provincial officials, polio workers, and security personnel working to eradicate polio. He stressed that inoculating children against the disease was vital to protect them from lifelong disability.
The new polio drive comes as Islamabad reports its first case of the crippling disease in 16 years, taking to 17 the total number of polio cases reported in the country thus far this year.