Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday reaffirmed the resolve of his government to completely eradicate polio from the country forever, which has reported five cases this year.
He said this while addressing a meeting of the National Taskforce for Polio Eradication in Islamabad which was attended by Bill Gates and officials of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
The prime minister said the federal and provincial governments are working in unison with an unflinching commitment to wipe out this menace forever. “It is in this spirit that we have undertaken five polio campaigns in the last six months,” he said.
He told the meeting that “our polio eradication efforts will produce results in weeks and months”.
The premier also mentioned other areas of cooperation with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation including digitalisation.
Sharif lauded and acknowledged the contribution of Bill Gates to humanity’s suffering, especially in the eradication of polio and malnutrition in Pakistan and in areas of mother and child healthcare.
Speaking on the occasion, Gates said the Foundation’s programme to end polio in Pakistan will continue for the next two and a half to three years to ensure absolute zero polio cases in the country.
Pakistan is the only country in the region along with Afghanistan where poliovirus is still present. In 2024, so far five cases of polio infection have been reported, including four from Balochistan and one from Sindh.
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