More polio cases in KP: Special emergency plan afoot to improve anti-polio response: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday while sharing his concerns over rising in polio cases in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, said the government was implementing a special emergency plan to improve anti-polio response.

On his Twitter handle, the prime minister referred to his Friday’s telephonic conversation with Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in which they discussed the ongoing public health including polio eradication and social sector programmes supported by the BMGF in Pakistan.

The prime minister said that he was grateful to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for its valuable support in the public health and social sector programmes.

“The increase in number of confirmed polio cases in KP is deeply concerning. We are implementing a special emergency plan to improve our anti-polio response”, he posted a tweet.

During contact, according to PM Office Media Wing press release, the prime minister also reaffirmed Pakistan’s desire to further strengthen the fruitful partnership with the Foundation in all the ongoing areas of cooperation.

He conveyed to Gates that his government was also focused on strengthening operations at all levels of the programme and empowering districts to make decisions based on the specific needs of their areas.

The prime minister also mentioned that providing safety and security to all members of the polio programme, especially the frontline workers, would be his government’s high priority.

Bill Gates shared the concern and reiterated the Foundation’s continued support to Pakistan for ensuring that no child was at risk of paralysis due to poliovirus.