Multan Sultans join polio eradication campaign

LAHORE : Pakistan Super League titans Multan Sultans have joined hands with the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme to support the noble cause of polio eradication in Pakistan.

An initiative led by the Punjab Emergency Operations Centre Coordinator Khizer Afzaal, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), was signed between Multan Sultans and the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication at an event in Islamabad. Multan Sultans General Manager Ms Hijab Zahid and Coordinator of the NEOC Dr Shahzad Baig signed the MoU, while senior Polio Programme leadership and members of the Multan Sultans squad were in attendance.

“We are grateful to the Multan Sultans for partnering with us in this critical mission to eradicate Polio from Pakistan,” said NEOC Coordinator Dr Shahzad Baig, adding that this is a critical partnership for the Pakistan Polio Programme, especially at this time when we are close to eradicating polio from the country. He said that this partnership highlights how collaboration between sports and public health programmes can help make a difference for generations to come, leveraging the influence of athletes to promote the health and wellbeing of all citizens.

Dr Baig said, “Cricket unites our people beyond anything. The support of world-renowned cricketers will help drive the polio eradication message in all homes in the country and build the crucial goodwill for the Polio Programme that is essential to ensure that no child misses this vaccine and remains safe from polio.” “We have entered this partnership to use the pull and popularity of cricket and Multan Sultans to create awareness around the curse of polio virus,” Multan Sultans General Manager Hijab Zahid said. “Cricket is the most followed sport and we want to use it as a vehicle to take the message of polio eradication to every home in Pakistan,” Manager Hijab Zahid said.

In the end, Ms Hijab Zahid said, “Our polio workers are our true heroes and Multan Sultans are grateful for the tremendous work they do to make our generations healthy. With their unwavering resolve and efforts, we will bowl out polio from Pakistan. Under this partnership, Multan Sultans will be a rallying voice for polio eradication in Pakistan during the ongoing season of the Pakistan Super League.

The Polio Programme’s logo is being featured on the helmets of the team, while players will also be recording video messages advocating for vaccination. Polio is a highly infectious disease, which is eliminated from almost all countries in the world, except for the two endemic countries of Pakistan and Afghanistan.”