Aziz Memon, KP Health Minister discuss polio eradication strategy

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Aziz Memon, National Chairman, Pakistan Polio Plus Committee, held a meeting with Shaukat Yousufzai, Minister of Health, Khyber Pakhthunkhwa, at Peshawar on July 30 in which the strategies to stop the transmission of polio in high risk areas was discussed in detail. 

They agreed that it’s the right time to act to stop the transmission of polio with 18 of the 22 cases in Pakistan arising from KPK and FATA. Charsadda, Mardan, Bannu and Nowshera in KPK are the main reservoirs of polio virus while Bara Tehsil in the Khyber Agency and North Waziristan in FATA are classified as high risk zones where polio vaccination has not been possible since June 2012. 

Aziz Memon and Shaukat Yousufzai discussed the security issues as two polio workers were gunned down in Peshawar a few weeks ago while a number of other volunteers had lost their lives in earlier campaigns. 

“The polio virus circulating in the vulnerable areas can be transmitted through the IDPs and it has the potential to spread in areas previously free from polio. Therefore urgent steps are needed to vaccinate the children and better security arrangement was sought in the high risk areas,” they resolved. 

They also assessed the possibilities of military support to administer polio drops in FATA on priority basis while also making efforts to negotiate with the religious scholars and leaders to support polio vaccination there in the larger interest of the whole community. 

Aziz Memon suggested to the Government of KPK to contact the families of polio victims and make them ambassadors to help advocate against polio in their districts. He also advised them to seal all transit points to and from FATA through establishment of permanent transit posts at entry/exit points. 

He further said that the specific bus terminals in KPK must also have polio booths to take care of the travelling children. He urged for the commissioning of polio points at all railway stations across the country. 

The KPK Health Minister appreciated the gesture of Aziz Memon for coming over all the way to Peshawar to discuss the polio issue and he pledged the wholehearted support of his government to this cause. He commended the proactive role of Rotary International in eradicating polio. 

Aziz Memon, a former District Governor of Rotary International, was also impressed by the eagerness shown by the Minister in tackling the situation on an emergency basis. 

“Shaukat Yousufzai is young and dynamic. He is also a former first-class cricketer. He has tremendous enthusiasm to contribute for worthy causes. He has realized the gravity of situation regarding polio and he has promised to act quickly. I hope that he gets the support of the Chief Minister and other authorities in order to drive polio out of the region,” Aziz Memon concluded.