Polio eradication top national priority: KP Chief Secretary

Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dr Muhammad Fakhre Alam Irfan has directed all concerned to ensure a verifiable, high-quality anti-polio campaign across the province, terming polio eradication a top priority of national importance.
He said Pakistan’s standing in the world depended on eradicating the disease as the nation remained committed to a healthier, polio-free world.
“Pakistan is one of only two countries where polio continues to pose a challenge to global health’” he said.
“We are standing at the last mile, and the last mile is always the most difficult, but everyone has to contribute to achieve this goal,” the chief secretary said.
He cautioned that every district of the province remained at risk until virus was eradicated from the entire province. Positive environmental samples in certain areas indicated that all districts were vulnerable, he noted. He urged all districts to conduct quality campaigns, adding that a few high-quality campaigns could bring about a significant change.
The chief secretary acknowledged hard work and dedication of polio teams working in hard-to-reach and sensitive areas, saying despite challenges teams had performed commendably and province had reached final stage of eradication efforts on two or three occasions.
He was chairing a meeting of Provincial Anti-Polio Task Force at Civil Secretariat, Peshawar, on Wednesday.
The task force was given a detailed briefing on preparations for upcoming province-wide anti-polio campaign scheduled for November.
Coordinator Provincial Emergency Operations Centre Sarah Rehman informed the meeting that all arrangements had been finalised and training of field teams was under way for a comprehensive campaign across all districts.