ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker health minister Dr. Nadeem Jan said on Friday that polio eradication would feature prominently among his principal priorities in the coming months while visiting the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) on his first day in office.
Jan, along with other ministers in Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar’s interim cabinet, was sworn in at the President House in Islamabad a day earlier. His visit to the emergency center comes after the health authorities found poliovirus traces from environmental samples collected from the northwestern city of Peshawar.
Polio affects the nervous system of children, leading to paralysis. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio continues to threaten the health and well-being of the young population.
“This visit holds great significance for me,” the minister said while addressing the staff of the emergency center. “I will ensure that every conceivable measure is undertaken to elevate Pakistan to the ranks of polio-free countries.”
“Treat me as a worker of the program, and I will do anything that needs to be done to interrupt transmission by the global deadline,” he added.
Jan met the emergency center team and visited the Polio Control Room to discuss the current priorities for the eradication program.
Briefing the minister, federal health secretary Iftikhar Shallwani said the ministry had been actively working to eradicate polio from the country and its commitment remained unwavering.
Dr. Shahzad Baig, the coordinator at the center, maintained the minister’s presence at the facility on his very first day in the office and held immense significance for the program.
He added the interim administration’s support would further strengthen the work being done at the emergency center in the coming months.
According to official information, Pakistan has reported two polio cases and 15 positive environmental samples during the course of this year, while Afghanistan has reported five cases and 33 positive environmental samples.
