The World Polio Day is being commemorated on 24 October

Lahore: The World Polio Day is being commemorated around the globe on 24 October, Saturday. The World Polio Day is annually observed on October 24 to commemorate the fight against poliomyelitis and pay tribute to Jonas Salk, American medical researcher and virologist who led the first team that developed a vaccine against poliomyelitis. The completion of polio eradication is followed as programmatic emergency in global health sphere.

In his message, Director General Health Services Punjab Dr. Zahid Pervaiz has said that polio has been declared a national emergency and a dedicated team of professionals in the Emergency Operation Center in the provincial health directorate is working hard to achieve the targets. He said that Punjab has made serious progress over the last two years and with other variables in control, polio eradication may well be in sight within one year.

The World Polio Day gives us an opportunity to renew our pledge to work with more dedication. Given its implication on our image in the comity of nation, it is not just for one organization and institution to undertake the task, it is now responsibility of everyone in the country, Dr. Zahid Pervaiz added.

He further said that we have introduced (inactivated injectable polio vaccine) IPV for children above 14 weeks of age in routine immunization. Further Punjab will also switch to bOPV to tOPV by the April 2016. In 2014, Punjab accounted for just 4 cases out of a total of 306 in the country. In the year 2015, there has been only one case so far out of a total of 38 in the country, an under-nourished 71-month old child in Chakwal, who escaped disability because of over 12 immunization doses. But statistically, that’s stands as a polio case, he added.

The DG Health further said that with use of android-based tailor-made application E-vaccs with support from the PITB, Punjab has been able to boost its routine immunization to 70 per cent from mid 50s within a year.  He said that thousands of travelers move in and out of Punjab to reservoir areas all through the year. Then there are seasonal migrants in bordering areas, who come for a short time. Even though permanent transit points have been set up at strategic routes, the movement of population at such a scale poses a set of unique challenges, he added.

Dr. Zahid Pervaiz said that, without a country-wide polio eradication campaign, keeping Punjab a polio free province is a tough task. The National Emergency Action Plan is being implemented in letter and spirit. Besides, we are laying special emphasis on improving routine immunization which has improved a great over the last year. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries battling polio now with Nigeria making considerable progress towards polio free status, he concluded.