A picture posted of female polio workers in Dadu, Sindh went viral on social media who were trying to play their part in eradicating polio despite the “horrible weather conditions”.
The picture went viral just days after Prime Minister Imran Khan had commended polio workers for performing duty in harsh conditions in the wake of a picture of a polio worker going viral wherein he could be seen battling knee-deep snow in Swat while on duty.
The picture shared by Rotary Pakistan’s Twitter handle was captioned, “Ladies Polio Workers in Dadu, Sindh doing their best to eradicate Polio despite horrible conditions. These heroes are setting a new example of dedication and selflessness. These heroes should be appreciated”
Ladies Polio Workers in Dadu, Sindh doing thier best to eradicate Polio despite of horrible conditions. These heroes are setting a new example of dedication and selflessness.
These heroes should be appreciated pic.twitter.com/e89ipJzIxu— Rotary Pakistan (@RotaryPak) January 31, 2019
Earlier, the PM had paid a tribute to polio workers who performed their duty of vaccinating children against the life-ruining disease even in harsh weather conditions.
The premier met with polio worker Irfanullah and others and appreciated their sacrifices.
Irfanullah’s picture, in which he was seen battling knee-deep snow in Swat while on duty, had gone viral on social media a few days ago.
During the meeting, strategies to keep curb crippling disease were discussed.
Tweeting about the incident, UNICEF Pakistan had appreciated the perils that were bravely faced by polio workers.
The polio eradication campaign in Pakistan has faced many challenges, from the refusal of parents to administer the drops to attacks on polio teams by militants.
Polio, or poliomyelitis, is a crippling childhood disease caused by the poliovirus and preventable through immunisation. Affecting mostly children under the age of five, polio — which has no cure and can only be prevented by giving a child multiple vaccine doses — can lead to irreversible paralysis.
Countrywide polio eradication drive was launched on January 21. More than 39 million children under the age of five will receive two drops of the vaccine which will protect them against the polio virus. At least 260,000 polio workers and more than 31,000 teams are participating in the drive.
The number of cases in Pakistan declined from 306 in 2014 to 54 in 2015, 20 in 2016 and eight in 2017. In 2018, 12 cases were reported.
A country must have no cases for three consecutive years in order to be considered to have eradicated polio by the World Health Organisation.