Journalists pledge to work with govt for ‘Polio free Pakistan’

Islamabad : The Journalist community has pledged to work with the government to ensure a polio-free Pakistan at a local hotel of Muree, the other day.

The assurance came at a workshop organized by the Directorate General Public Relations (DGPR) in collaboration with the Punjab Emergency Operations Centre, themed ‘Last Mole, Reaching Last Child’. Officials of international partners of Pakistan in polio eradication belonging to WHO and Unicef participated in the workshop. Journalists from key organizations were also in attendance.

The workshop was held in the backdrop of positive environmental samples reported in Lahore and Rawalpindi. The journalists were informed that two environmental samples had been reported positive from Rawalpindi and three from Lahore this year. Although, no polio case had been reported in Punjab for more than three years now but presence of the virus in polio samples was indicative of persistent virus risk to the children.

Dr Nauman, the polio focal person of a Rawalpindi tehsil, disclosed that environmental samples are taken from 31 sites across 19 districts of Punjab. "Virus found in Rawalpindi is linked to the cluster YB3A which is active in Afghanistan. While the virus found in Lahore is linked with Kandahar", he added.

"It is a matter of satisfaction that no indigenous circulation has been found in Punjab. This means Punjab is at risk of importation", he explained. Referring to the steps taken to prevent virus reintroduction in Punjab, Dr Nauman underlined that a mass campaign with a component of community engagement had been rolled out. The tehsil focal person assured that all communities were being registered so that the child would remain unvaccinated.