ISLAMABAD: Japan has announced a grant of over $3.87 million for the polio eradication programme in Pakistan and procurement of essential oral polio vaccine to reach more than 18.61 million children under five years of age living in endemic and outbreak districts.
Also read: 3rd anti-polio campaign underway to reach 13.5 million children
The notes of the grant were signed and exchanged between the Japanese government and the UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) and between Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) and Unicef in Islamabad on Thursday. Minister for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination Abdul Qadir Patel was present during the signing ceremony.
At a ceremony held in Islamabad today, @JapanGov ???????? and @jica_direct_en together with @UNICEF signed a grant in presence of Health Minister @A_Qadir_Patel, @CoordinatorNeoc & other dignitaries to renew their long-standing commitment to polio eradication efforts in Pakistan ???????? pic.twitter.com/poRgDXXhAb
— Pak Fights Polio (@PakFightsPolio) December 8, 2022
Speaking on the occasion, Mr Patel said Pakistan had come a long way over the last 30 years, and from thousands of children paralysed by poliovirus in the 1980s and 1990s, “we have managed to reduce the number of cases and affected communities drastically”.
Also read: UNICEF says effective measures likely to eradicate polio from Pakistan by 2023
Referring to the government’s commitment to polio eradication, the minister said the programme had successfully restricted the virus circulation to endemic districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and “we are committed and optimistic about eradicating polio by 2023”.
