Islamabad – July 15, 2024 – A high-level delegation from Pakistan at a meeting of the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) has assured that the Pakistan Polio Programme is determined to deal with the reemergence of wild poliovirus in the country and is implementing a comprehensive plan to interrupt poliovirus transmission.

The IMB is meeting in Geneva from July 15-19 to review global polio eradication progress, including progress in polio-endemic countries, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The delegation from Pakistan includes Coordinator to the PM on National Health Services Dr Malik Mukhtar Bharat, Focal Person to the PM on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza, Sindh Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Punjab Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman, Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Nadeem Aslam Chaudhary, Additional Chief Secretary Balochistan Zahid Saleem, and National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication Coordinator Muhammad Anwarul Haq, highlighting the government’s resolve at all levels to end polio.

In his address to the IMB, Coordinator to the PM on Health Dr Malik Mukhtar Bharat said every successive government has remained committed to polio eradication and over the past year both the interim and new government have maintained direct oversight of polio eradication efforts.

“Our current challenges include campaign staggering, inconsistent campaign quality, missed children, population movement, community distrust and pockets of insecurity and low routine immunization rates in polio high-risk districts,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Health will continue to provide its full support to address these challenges and enhance routine immunization services.

Dr Bharat said Pakistan is looking forward to a Health Dialogue with Afghanistan in the coming months to address stronger collaboration on polio eradication and address broader health needs of both countries.

PM’s Focal Person on Polio highlighted that the Polio Programme remains on high alert with the resurgence of the virus and cases. “Virus detections in core reservoirs which had been polio-free for several months is a reminder that while we have made progress, we cannot shift our focus from hunting the virus everywhere. Even greater determination is needed now more than ever,” she said.

Elaborating on the roadmap being implemented by the Programme to interrupt virus transmission, she said the next two months will focus on resetting the Programme by revitalizing management and oversight, while the following months will focus on reversing virological trends and move on to highly targeted and intensified efforts to vaccinate missed communities and interrupt virus transmission by mid-2025.

“The resurgence of virus is indeed a cause for concern, but we are not deterred and remain confident that with the planned roadmap and revitalized political and security support firmly in place, Pakistan can reset its path,” she said.

The Pakistan delegation also met with the Afghanistan delegation on the sidelines of the IMB and the Polio Programmes of both countries deliberated on ways to further enhance collaboration and coordination on cross-border vaccination efforts to reach every child with the vaccine.

The IMB is an impartial, independent body of global health experts, that provides independent assessment and oversight of polio eradication efforts and issues an annual report after each meeting that contains recommendations to improve strategies to reach the end goal of polio eradication.

Note for 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, except for the two endemic countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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