ISLAMABAD, 22^nd March 2022:  The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) ramped up support for polio eradication by dedicating the second day of the Lahore test match between Pakistan and Australia to raising awareness on the importance of Polio eradication.

Under the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) partnership with the Polio Programme, the PCB facilitated various awareness-raising activities, including a shout out by the players, promoting awareness messages, honouring Polio workers and Polio survivors and ensuring their free access to the cricket match.  

As cricket is popular and followed so closely in Pakistan, the test match provided a great opportunity to utilise the power of the game for promoting polio vaccination by reaching the many thousands of fans attending and millions watching the test globally. 

Cricketers, as national heroes are role models for the children and youth of Pakistan," Dr Shahzad Baig, Coordinator of the National Emergency Operations Center for Polio Eradication, said in a statement. "I am so pleased and proud they are supporting the national mission of polio eradication and hope that their messages will reach some of the country's hard to reach areas. I believe our work together with the PCB will help to reach parents and caregivers with an important message on vaccination. No child should ever be paralysed by Polio because it is a disease that can easily be prevented by a very safe vaccine. he added. 

The PCB Chairman, Ramiz Raja, assured full support of the PCB including the Pakistan National Cricket Team players and officials to the Polio Programme. "The PCB is committed to play its role," Ramiz Raja said. "Together, we can bowl out Polio by focusing more on awareness-raising and promoting a culture of vaccine acceptance," he added. 

The Chairman while acknowledging the contributions of polio workers also said, “the entire Nation is proud of all polio workers for their commitment and hard work despite challenges in reaching every child across Pakistan.”

Pakistan recently marked a significant milestone with no wild polio case reported in the last 14 months, though the virus is still present in some parts of the country, and therefore it is a threat to all children in Pakistan. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries left with the poliovirus; and there is still an imminent risk of the poliovirus to any unvaccinated child on either side of the border.

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

===============

For further information, please contact:

Mr. Zulfiqar Babakhel, Media Manager, NEOC, 0345-9165937

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.