President Asif Ali Zardari will launch the next round of the 3-day national polio immunisation campaign on Monday (Today). The president will make a special appeal to people from all walks of life to support the cause and contribute to the goal of a polio-free Pakistan. He will also be informing the international community that despite challenges Pakistan is making an all out effort against the disease and that there is a progressive improvement in campaign performances with sharp declines in the number of polio cases. Cabinet ministers, governors, chief secretaries, secretaries of health, parliamentarians and representatives of international partner organisations will also participate in the event to be held at President House today. The Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell will be overseeing the nation-wide campaign to ensure that the set targets are met. In the provinces, the chief ministers are leading the effort whereas Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor will personally supervise the campaign in FATA. Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring Cell National Coordinator Dr Altaf Bosan said that Pakistan had reported 44 cases of polio this year compared to 136 last year, whereas the number of infected districts had reduced from 41 to 26 in the same time period. Of the 44 cases reported this year, 33 were from FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone, highlighting that the virus was mostly restricted to these areas and the challenge of inaccessibility and security needed to be met with consistent efforts, Bosan added.
