Eradication Of Fatal Diseases And Infections Among Priorities Of The Government

Eradication of all fatal and crippling diseases, predominantly polio, is among the top priorities of the government, said Governor of Sindh, Imran Ismail here Tuesday.

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 18th Sep, 2018 ) :Eradication of all fatal and crippling diseases, predominantly polio, is among the top priorities of the government, said Governor of Sindh, Imran Ismail here Tuesday.

Talking to a six-member delegation of Rotary International Club's Polio Plus Committee, led by Aziz Memon, he said government is fully committed to the cause and would continue to cooperate with all national and international organization striving for the elimination of polio virus and other rampant ailments.

The Governor on the occasion appreciated the approval of $22 million grant for the health sector by the Rotary International Club and expressed his confidence that this would go a long way to helping children and other vulnerable sections against different diseases.

The delegation that also included Irfan Qureish, Rais Ahmed Khan, Owais Ahmad Kohari, Salim Rao and Ashraf Ghauri apprised the Governor about series of health care projects undertaken by the Club across the country. With specific reference to Polio they discussed problems faced by polio workers and volunteers in remote as well as those areas that are not easily accessible.

Mentioning that absolute coordination is being ensured with concerned government departments and institutions, the members of the delegation highlighted extreme importance of willingness on the part of parents in particular and families along with communities in general regarding importance of vaccination to contain polio and other vaccine preventable diseases in the country.

Need to change public mindset among significant sections of the country and importance of public education about fatal diseases was particularly emphasized during the meeting.

The Governor Sindh appreciated measures being adopted by the Rotary Club to control malnutrition among the mothers and women in reproductive age group.

Aziz Memon, the Chairman, Polio Plus Committee, Rotary Club of Pakistan mentioned on the occasion that 58 surveillance centres have been established in the country by the Rotary Club International."Since 1986 the club has also spent $1.8 billion for the cause of public health in Pakistan." said Memon mentioning that only recently a grant of $22 million has also been approved for the country by Rotary International He said that during past two years no new case of polio has been reported from the former FATA while other areas that were previously notorious for the virus are also registered to have largely overcome the threat. "We are confident that Pakistan would soon be declared among the WHO list of polio free country," said Aziz Memon.