ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Saturday here reiterated that eradication of polio was the foremost priority of the government.
The President was talking to a delegation comprising representatives of international partners against Polio eradication who called on him at Aiwan-e-Sadr.
The delegation comprised of Mrs. Katharina Hulshof, UNICEF Regional Director, Kalayan Banarjee, President Rotary International, Dr. Waqar Ajmal, Bill Gates & Melinda Foundation, Aziz Memon, Chairman Polio Plus Committee Rotary International , Dr. Guido Sabatinelli, WHO Representative Pakistan, and Dan Roharmann, Country Head UNICEF.
Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, Chairperson President's Polio Oversight Committee, Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali, SAPM on Social Sector & PM Focal Person on Polio Eradication, Nasreen Haque, Secretary to President, Zaid Usman, Additional Secretary, Dr. Altaf Bosan, National Coordinator PM Monitoring and Coordination Cell for Polio Eradication and other senior officials were also present during the meeting.
Spokesperson to the President Senator Farhatullah Babar said that the current situation with regards to reported polio cases in various parts of the country, steps taken for its eradication and the issues involved in fighting the disease were discussed during the meeting.
The delegation lauded the personal interest of the President towards efforts for eradicating the menace of Polio from the country.
The participants also appreciated the role of Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho, Begum Shahnaz Wazir Ali and the provincial chief ministers in overseeing the efforts for eliminating polio.
The meeting was informed that the National Emergency Action Plan (NEAP) adopted focused on greater ownership, oversight and accountability mechanism at the Federal, Provincial, District and grossroot levels besides strategies to ensure access into the security sensitive areas.
The meeting was informed that the Action Plan was being implemented with vigor with the assistance of all stakeholders.
It was informed that campaign quality has witnessed significant improvement in its reach out to the children especially that of the far flung and inaccessible areas and Polio reach out had extended to 80 percent districts of the country with 95 percent coverage.
The meeting was further informed that the number of polio cases this year as compared to last year have decreased considerably.
The President while appreciating the assistance and interest of the international partners in complementing Government's efforts reiterated that eradication of Polio was the foremost priority of the government.
He said, "we have made Polio eradication campaign a cross party issue and all the political parties and societal forces were now supporting the cause."
Discussing Polio situation in tribal areas and some parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the President said that the government was making efforts with the support of political and religious leaders and other notables of the areas to reach out even in those areas where inaccessibility and security issues had hampered polio eradication campaigns in the past.
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