Director General Health Services Punjab Dr. Zahid Pervaiz said on Thursday that the role of national media would assume central position in the sustainability of polio eradication efforts in the next few years.
Addressing a group of communication professionals and selected group of columnists and feature writers in the Orientation Workshop for Polio Eradication organized by the EPI Program and UNICEF at a local hotel, he said that Pakistan had to battle the adverse effects of polio and terrorism on its image the world over – both are negative symbolism.
Besides Additional DG Dr. Ejaz Sheikh and Additional Director EPI Dr. Syed Sohail Ahmed, technical officials of WHO, UNICEF, public relation professionals, representatives of state media and feature writers from leading media organisations were present in the workshop.
Dr. Zahid Pervaiz cited a few examples when stories without necessary research were picked up and were inaccurately or inadvertently reported as polio cases.
“Our Program managers may ignore false reports, but globally such reports reinforce the negative symbolism about the country,” he said.