Both the terrorists and polio are enemy of Pakistani children, said Punjab Advisor on Health Salman Rafiq while addressing the last session of a two-day conference on the topic of “Peace and Solidarity” arranged by Rotary Club at a local hotel on Sunday.
Besides all the four provinces, district governors of Rotary Club also attended the conference and Punjab Director General Health Dr Zahid Pervaiz was also present on the occasion.
Rafique further said that joint efforts should be made to save the children of all the four provinces from crippling disease polio. He stressed the need for working by rising above political gains regarding health matters like polio and coping with this challenge from a joint platform. He said that those attacking polio teams are terrorists.
Referring to murder of a teacher in Faisalabad, Rafique said that the investigation into the incident of murder of a school teacher during polio campaign revealed that school teacher was killed due to old enmity and this incident had no link with terrorist attack on polio teams.
GOOD JOB ROTARY CLUB OF PAKISTAN:
He appreciated the invaluable services of Rotary Club of Pakistan in the eradication of polio and said that the club has extended great cooperation to the Health Department. He said that establishment of container check posts at various cities and roads of the province has become possible only due to the cooperation of the club where polio vaccine drops are administered to the children during journey.
Director General Health Dr Zahid Pervaiz said that no go areas have finished in KPK and Waziristan areas as a result of success of Operation Zarb-e-Azb. He said that the Health Department has changed its strategy for giving polio coverage to the children of families coming from other provinces to Punjab and by micro-planning, teams are visiting every nook and corner of the province. He said that full attention is being paid to missing children and they are being covered by compiling their lists. Dr Pervaiz said that terrorists stopping polio teams from administering polio vaccine have been defeated. He said that the campaign of the Health Department against polio will continue with the cooperation of the club and expressed the hope that the government will succeed in complete eradication of polio within a year from all over the country with the cooperation of the club and other international development partners.
