ISLAMABAD, Feb 17 (APP): Bill Gates, Co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, was briefed on the success and the challenges of the Polio eradication programme in the country during his visit to National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) here on Thursday.
Bill Gates, who was on his first visit to Pakistan also visited operations room and the 1166 Helpline.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Health Services, Dr Faisal Sultan, Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Amir Ashraf Khawaja, Coordinator NEOC, Dr. Dr Shahzad Baig, and Deputy Coordinator and National Programme Manager, EPI, Dr Akram Shah were also accompanied him during the visit.
During the visit Gates expressed satisfaction over the quality and impact of the programme and reaffirmed his continued commitment to the fight against polio.
“Pakistan has made considerable progress and to achieve desirable results it is pertinent to continue with the strategic and targeted approach in the coming months,” he stated.
Dr Faisal Sultan, highlighted contributions of the federal and provincial governments, polio staff, and frontline health care workers for reaching eligible children during the routine vaccination campaigns in the country.
“We are focused on building the capacity of district government led teams, especially in high-risk areas of South KP to provide leadership in identifying challenges, design, and implement corrective actions to reach the goal of Polo-free Pakistan,” he added.
Dr Shahzad Baig, Coordinator NEOC, while providing over a programme overview, acknowledged the significant support of the government for the polio eradication efforts.
He said all polio activities had been sustained under the government management and oversight at every level, with the full commitment of the Prime Minister and Chief Ministers.
The programme continued to focus on designing high-quality case response campaigns to review and modify interventions for reaching children who were repeatedly missed and were in need to receive the vaccine to build immunity, he explained.
Dr Shahzad also mentioned significant impact of recent synergies between the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) and Polio Eradication Programme (PEI) during routine vaccination campaigns.
While highlighting the current challenges of virus circulation in border areas, he shared that the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme continued to work closely with Afghanistan to stop polio virus transmission across shared corridors and works to halt transmission amongst highly mobile population groups.
During the meeting, Bill Gates presented shields to the Provincial Coordinators to acknowledge their dedication and commitment to the polio eradication efforts in the country.
The meeting was attended by the Coordinators of Provincial Emergency Operations Center (PEOC) and representatives of UNICEF, WHO, BMGF and NEOC.
