Saira meets GAVI chief

Islamabad :Pakistan is fully prepared to conduct a nationwide measles campaign in March-April 2018, for which the country has recently applied for the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) to intervene and financially support its urgent need to prevent the risk of an outbreak and the resultant mortality and morbidity associated with measles.

Minister for Health Saira Afzal personally reminded the CEO of GAVI Dr. Seth Berkley of the criticality of the measles programme funding during a meeting in Abu Dhabi Wednesday. “The provincial governments are fully committed to conducting the campaign. The Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) is building upon lessons learnt from the previous campaign as well as mop-ups which have been recently completed by the provinces, based on which comprehensive micro planning and timelines have been developed in consensus with the provinces,” Saira told Dr. Berkley.

Saira added that additional support from GAVI will help the programme in targeting the poorly and inadequately immunized strata of the urban slums where the largest number of under and un-immunized children reside in Pakistan. Moreover, the funding will help expand the cold chain equipment optimization platform to improve the overall vaccine and logistics management system and will boost service delivery, she added. Siara informed Dr. Berkley that EPI continues to work in synergy with the polio eradication initiative.