Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif met with Bill Gates, founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), on Thursday to address the alarming rise in polio cases in Pakistan, where 23 cases have been reported this year. The most recent case was identified in Kohat district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where a 10-month-old child was paralyzed by the virus.
Balochistan has recorded 14 cases, Sindh 4, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Islamabad have reported one case each. Pakistan and Afghanistan remain the last polio-endemic countries, with Pakistan experiencing a resurgence in cases since late 2018, highlighting the precariousness of earlier gains.
During their meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Sharif commended the Gates Foundation’s continued support in areas such as polio eradication, maternal and child health, and financial inclusion. He reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to eliminating polio, stressing the importance of sustained efforts and health system strengthening, particularly in maternal and child nutrition.
Bill Gates acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts and stressed the critical need to protect future generations from polio. He appreciated the Prime Minister’s engagement with provincial governments and emphasized focusing on areas where vaccine refusal and missed children are high.
Pakistan’s Polio Eradication Program is planning two large-scale, door-to-door vaccination campaigns later this year to address immunity gaps and curb the virus’s spread. Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication, Ayesha Raza Farooq, highlighted the devastating impact of missed vaccination opportunities, urging collective responsibility from parents and communities to protect children under five by ensuring their vaccination.
The ongoing fight against polio in Pakistan faces challenges, including militancy, attacks on polio workers, and climate disasters like floods, which have disrupted vaccination efforts. Despite these obstacles, the country remains determined to eradicate polio once and for all.
