ISLAMABAD – In a major blow to Pakistan’s efforts to become a polio-free nation, at least eight polio cases have surfaced in North Waziristan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) this year so far.
The health ministry has reported the latest infection in a 20-month-old child in the Miranshah area.
Federal Health Minister Ghulam Qadir Patel said polio cases were surfacing in the area already decalred sensitive. He said the government had taken solid preventive measures after the first two cases were reported in North Waziristan this year.
Patel said the government was taking measures on a war footing to eradicate the poliovirus from Pakistan and emphasised that eradication of the disabling and life-threatening disease was a collective responsibility.
The minister urged people to ensure their children are administered polio drops and vowed that the government would use all resources to make Pakistan polio free.
Federal Health Secretary Dr Fakhar Alam said an anti-polio drive was carried out simultaneously in Pakistan and Afghanistan from May 23 to May 27 this year, adding that around 50 million children were administered polio drops during this campaign.
Dr Alam said that movement of people between the neighbouring countries posed a threat of virus spread, adding that they were taking cross-border measures to stop spread of the disease.
He emphasized that efforts were required to save children from lifetime disability.
