With 63 new cases of polio having being reported in Pakistan in 2011, the country could potentially become the last polio reservoir in the world and efforts for its eradication needed to be accelerated, UNICEF said in a press release on Tuesday.
It said since the beginning of the year, Pakistan had continued to see rising numbers of polio cases (63 in 2011, compared to 36 cases in the same period last year).
UNICEF South Asia Regional Director Daniel Toole, who is currently in Pakistan, has been holding meetings with senior Pakistani government and UN officials about eradication of polio in Pakistan.
He reiterated UNICEF’s commitment to efforts for the eradication of polio, emphasising on the need to urgently improve local polio response, vaccination outreach and management and accountability for results, the press release said.
“We must ensure access to all children as specified in the President’s National Emergency Action Plan for Polio Eradication in Pakistan. We have a huge task ahead of us, and we must build on lessons learned and act now,” Toole said.
According to the press release, Balochistan has now reported 22 polio cases this year, more than any other province or region in the country.
The virus which circulated in the five high risk districts in Balochistan has now spread to districts previously not infected for the past five years, including Khuzdar, Noshki and Kholu. FATA has reported 20 cases, Sindh 14, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa six, and Gilgit-Baltistan has registered one case.
Punjab, with 60 percent of Pakistan’s population, has not reported any cases of polio in 2011 – this was a major accomplishment that must be sustained, the press release added.
