$72 million agreements signed to sustain polio drive

The government of Pakistan Friday signed two agreements worth US dollars 72 million to sustain its polio campaigns. On behalf of Government of Pakistan, federal secretary Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Division, Arif Azeem signed the agreements whereas from the international partner agencies, Country Representative of Unicef in Pakistan, Dan Rohrmann and World Health Organisation Representative to Pakistan, Dr Guido Sabatinelli inked the documents.
The first agreement signed between Government of Pakistan and Unicef was worth 41 million US dollars. The agreement provides support by the World Bank to be channelled through Unicef for supply of polio vaccine by Unicef to the GoP. The second agreement signed between the government and World Health Organisation worth 31 million US dollars for support by Japan International Co-operation Agency to be channeled through WHO.
Speaking on the occasion, Arif Azeem said the support is vital to sustain supply of polio vaccines in the country through which 32 million children were being protected annually from life-long disability. He said, "Though we are confronted with a daunting task with 75 cases of polio reported so far this year, the experience in Punjab and Sindh has shown that the targets are achievable."
The secretary added that Punjab, the country's most populous province, has reported no polio case so far this year. Sindh has done remarkably well and there has been a turnaround with no polio case reported over a considerable period of time, he added.
Dan Rohrmann expressed all out support in the initiative. He informed that the support worth 41 million dollars will be used by Unicef to provide 250 million doses of polio vaccine to the government of Pakistan. This will meet the country's requirements for a period of nine months, adding Unicef is part of these major efforts to eradicate.
Dr Guido Sabatinelli informed that the support provided through his organisation will help meet the operational expenses for polio campaigns conducted in the length and breadth of the country. The funds will also be used to provide additional incentive to the vaccinators who are part of the polio teams with a view to improving their performance, he added.
Chief Representative of Japan International Co-operation Agency in Pakistan, Takatoshi Nishikata said his country is providing support to Pakistan to fight polio since 1996. He said JICA was committed to supporting the country's drive to root out polio once and for all. Earlier, National Manager, Expanded Programme on Immunisation Dr Altaf Bosan informed that inaccessibility to children in Fata has been reduced with the help of the armed forces whereas in Balochistan, the district management in high-risk areas is now geared up.
Referring to the agreements signed, he said the World Bank mission visited in July 2010 and reviewed all indicators and suggested the programme to process for additional financing of one year's polio vaccine from July 2011 to June 2012. This was a continuation of the third partnership, which was signed between the Economic Affairs Division and World Bank in July 2009.