Islamabad, June 17, 2014: Prominent scholars from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and other Muslim countries met for a two days conference on June 15-16 in support of polio eradication efforts and childhood immunization in Pakistan.
The conference was attended by Chairman Islamic Development Bank Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, Secretary General of International Islamic Fiqh Academy (IIFA) Dr Ahmad Khalid Babikr, Director IIFA Dr. Abdulqahir Qamar, Director General Organization of Islamic Conference Dr Muhammad Kamran, Dr. Ahmad Abdelalim Abdellatif, Dr Hassan Mohammed Safar Sufyani, Dr Adel AbdulQadir Goutah and other international scholars.
More than 40 prominent scholars from within Pakistan also participated in the conference which discussed the current situation and challenges, barriers to polio and childhood vaccination and on ways to restore the confidence of the frontline health workers. Maulana Samiul Haq, Qari Hanif Jalandhuri, Haji Hanif Tayyab, Mufti Rafi Usmani, Maulana Tahir Ashrafi were among the prominent national religious scholars who attended the event.
The conference was being held at a time when the polio eradication program in Pakistan is facing serious challenges following due to misconceptions and misperceptions in various parts of the country. This is this first high-profile event which aims to express support to the government-led polio eradication initiative following the recently imposed travel restriction by the International Health Regulatory Authority of WHO.
The inaugural session of the conference was chaired by Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Ms Saira Afzal Tarar. The conference participants expressed solidarity with Pakistan in the fight for polio eradication, encourage caregivers to ensure that every child is vaccinated against polio and other vaccine preventable disease, denounce violence against the health workers and lauded the role of the vaccination teams. A declaration was also issued at the concluding session of the conference.