https://arab.news/jpp3x
- Dr. Nadeem Jan tells the EU ambassador Pakistan will remain at risk unless the virus is completely eradicated in Afghanistan
- Pakistani health minister has also written a letter to his Afghan counterpart, asking him to visit Islamabad for discussion over the issue
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker health minister Dr. Nadeem Jan said on Tuesday he was formulating a comprehensive strategy to curtail poliovirus transmission from Afghanistan, emphasizing the disease would continue pose a risk to his country unless it was completely eradicated from the neighboring state.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains a significant threat to children’s health. The disease, which targets the nervous system and causes paralysis, remains a pressing concern for both nations.
Last week, health authorities in Pakistan identified poliovirus traces in environmental samples obtained from Rawalpindi city in the eastern part of the country, observing that the isolated virus shared a genetic similarity with a prevalent cluster circulating in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
“I am strengthening the polio vaccination system at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on an emergency basis,” the minister said on Tuesday during a meeting with the European Union’s ambassador to Pakistan Riina Kionka, according to a statement from the health ministry.
“[Both neighboring countries should form a] joint integrated strategy to stop the transmission of the virus at the border,” he continued.
The minister, who said that polio eradication would feature prominently among his principal priorities in the coming months on his first day in office on August 18, also revealed that he had written a letter to his Afghan counterpart to visit Pakistan and hold a discussion over the issue.
Dr. Jan further mentioned he had allocated 60 percent of his office hours to polio eradication efforts, reaffirming he would take all possible measures to make Pakistan polio-free.
The minister also informed Pakistan would soon be hosting a high-level meeting focusing on the global health security agenda, involving the participation of experts and stakeholders from around the world.
As per the official records, Pakistan has documented two cases of polio and 15 confirmed positive environmental samples in the current year. Meanwhile, Afghanistan has reported five polio cases and identified 33 positive environmental samples.