Four Pakistan Polio workers were awarded with prestigious Louis Pasteur medals by the Pasteur Institute of France in recognition of their laudable services towards eradication of Polio from Pakistan.
Mohammad Khuram Shehzad, Syed Latif, Azra Altaf, and Aziz Memon were awarded the medals in an impressive ceremony held today in Pasteur Institute in Paris on the occasion of Polio Day.
While working in Karachi, Latif was shot in his leg in 2012. After spending months in hospital and leaving his home, he took up another job to spread awareness and reduce long-held fears about the polio vaccination. Azra Altaf has spent a decade immunizing children with polio vaccines.
The ambassador of Pakistan to France Moin ul Haque, representatives of the World Health Organization and government of France presented the awards.
While speaking on the occasion, Moin ul Haque said eradication of polio was a national priority and a commitment at the highest political level.
He further said that recognition of courageous role and services of the Pakistani polio workers was also an acknowledgement of the dedicated and collective efforts of the government of Pakistan and all the stakeholders to achieve the target of declaring Pakistan a polio-free country.
The UNESCO/Institut Pasteur Medal is a biennial international science prize created jointly by UNESCO and the Pasteur Institute in 1995 “to be awarded in recognition of outstanding research contributing to a beneficial impact on human health and to the advancement of scientific knowledge in related fields such as medicine, fermentations, agriculture and food.”
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries battling polio now with Nigeria making considerable progress towards polio free status.