Clerics on Wednesday announced to cooperate with the government and health staff in eradicating polio from Lower Dir.
The announcement was made during a press conference organised by the National Research & Development Foundation (NRDF) and UNICEF at Timergara Press Club. Lower Dir Health EDO Dr Shaukat Ali and others spoke on the occasion. They said that rest of the world had overcome polio due to preventive measures but Pakistan had not been successful to make it polio free because it had been facing many challenges such as people’s ignorance, militancy and negative propaganda against anti-polio vaccines.
They said that 189 polio cases had been detected in Pakistan until now. The speakers said that Pakistan was determined to become polio free by end of 2012. “If Pakistan did not overcome polio by the end of this year, it could face economical sanctions and problems pertaining to travel abroad,” Dr Shaukat said, adding that clerics and seminaries students should play their active role to create mass awareness against the disease.
He said that Lower Dir had been polio free since 1996, as no new case had been detected. Shaukat said that the detection of new cases in Upper Dir and adjacent Tribal Areas were alarming.
I was fortunate enough in Feb 2011 to take part in two Rotary Projects. a) to build a water dam in Rajasthan and also b) a National immunisation day. With Rotarians from the USA, Canada, France, New Zealand, Australia, Iceland & the UK
It was a life changing experience for me to be able to see how people live and also to be able to help to give life thru water and then to immunise 107 children. I was advised this number by the local Chief medical officer who also told me that approx 250,000 children were also immunised by Rotarians, and local government officials.India celebrated 12 mths without a single case of Polio. That is a an achievement especially as there remains 4 countries in the world with endemic polioI remember it by using this expression of P.A.I.Nwhere:P=PakistanA=AfghanistanI= IndiaN=NigeriaThe support The Gates Foundation has given has been really welcome thru financial giving and challenging Rotary to raise 200 Million dollars and then his organisation would match it. Rotarians around the world raisd 202.6 Million Dollars ….Gates was so pleased that he then endorsed the organisation by donating a further 50 Million Dollars#rotaryendpolio is going to happen. With the challenges faced in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria it will be a hard slog – but we will get there.
District Governor Mukesh Malhotra 2011/12
Rotary International – D1140(covering 6 London Boroughs, NE Hampshire & Surrey)
#rotaryendpolio
#rotaryspringclean#rotary
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