Experts Call Upon Members Of Society For Making Anti-polio Drive A Success

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th May, 2022 ) :Health experts on Thursday called upon members of civil society, media fraternity, and religious scholars to play an active role in eradicating polio from the country and urged parents to shun propaganda by opponents of anti-polio vaccination to ensure the safety of their children from being crippled by poliomyelitis.

The government should also devise an awareness campaign to convince parents to administer polio to save their child's future disability, health expert Dr. Waseem Khawaja said while talking to Radio Pakistan.

Parents should get into their heads that polio vaccination is a matter for our future generations and the government will not allow anyone to sabotage the national drive, he added.

It is better to get your children vaccinated rather than regretting the rest of your life, he mentioned.

Vice-Chancellor & Dean, Health Services academy Dr. Shahzad Ali Khan said that it is a fact that polio virus can be still effective even in .01 percent of children, adding, that in the past few years, no polio case was reported. But unfortunately, there are some families that are hesitant to administer polio drops to their children.

Pakistan is the only country where door-to-door campaigns for polio vaccination are carried out, he said, adding, that the world's eyes are focused on Pakistan and our health authorities are making hectic efforts to eradicate the virus.

Now it is up to the parents and society as a whole to cooperate and encourage the culture of getting children vaccinated not only against polio but also against all other vaccine-preventable diseases, he added.

"We must appreciate the contributions of the World Health Organization and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for extending technical and financial support to Pakistan's anti-polio campaign", he highlighted.

Experts stressed that every individual in the society should support the anti-polio campaign starting from May 23 to May 29 and save children from lifelong disability.

They regretted that baseless propaganda against the polio vaccine by vested elements has badly affected the program and put the health of our children at stake.

Experts urged the media to support the government in addressing hardcore polio refusals cases in far-flung areas of the country.