Prime Minister (PM) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso on Sunday took notice of reports in media regarding closure of Polio Monitoring Cell at the PM Secretariat and ordered its immediate restoration.
Reiterating his commitment to eradicate polio from the country, Khoso reviewed his decision after a presentation by Federal Minister Dr Sania Nishtar on the implications of such a move on national polio eradication efforts.
The premier directed relevant authorities to take necessary administrative steps for immediate restoration of the cell to its status before the caretaker government took over.
Khoso said the health of Pakistani children was very close to his heart, and that high levels of commitment were necessary to eradicate the paralysing disease from the country.
Earlier, World Health Organization (WHO) had decided to halt aid of $130 million to the polio cell.
WHO had written a letter to the government of Pakistan, which said following dissolution of the cell, there was a question mark on aid from the Bill Gates Foundation.
Dr Waqar Ajmal, special envoy to Bill Gates, contacted the government on the sudden dissolution of the cell and demanded its restoration on an emergency basis, sources added.
