Anti-polio campaign in Pak to restart soon with Army's assistance: Gen. Bajwa

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, Pakistan will restart the anti-polio campaign in the coming weeks and the military will support the government's efforts, Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa has told billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

Despite the COVID-19 outbreak, Pakistan will restart the anti-polio campaign in the coming weeks and the military will support the government's efforts, Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa has told billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. In a statement on Wednesday, the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military said that Bajwa and Gates held a telephonic conversation and discussed the polio eradication drive in Pakistan, one of the three countries where the disease is endemic.

Pakistan on February 17 launched a countrywide anti-polio campaign to vaccinate about 39.6 million children under the age of five in the country as the government appealed to the people for their support to eradicate the crippling disease. However, it halted its anti-polio campaign after the first coronavirus case was reported in February.

Bajwa told Gates that the healthcare workers who played the most important part in polio drive also acted as the frontline defence against the COVID-19. He said that despite COVID-19, the Army in support of government efforts has already made preparations to restart the anti-polio campaign in coming weeks. The military provides security for polio workers when the government sends them to administer vaccinations. Many people in Pakistan are suspicious of the polio vaccine, though it saves lives. Growing security challenges in recent years have made it increasingly difficult to run anti-polio campaigns in different parts of Pakistan.

Attempts to eradicate the disease have been seriously hampered by the targeting of vaccination teams in recent years by militants, who oppose the drives, claiming the polio drops cause infertility. Attacks on immunisation teams have claimed nearly 70 lives since December 2012. Bajwa and Gates also discussed the challenges in the face of current and future pandemic threats and efforts to enhance the resilience of population through education, flexible healthcare management and use of technology.

Polio is a disabling and life-threatening disease caused by the poliovirus. Gates also appreciated Pakistan's Army help in enabling the polio eradication campaign in the country. “The call was in the backdrop of a polio eradication drive in Pakistan. Bill Gates appreciated Pakistan Army's help in enabling the campaign through provision of security, monitoring and bridging of capacity gaps,” according to the Army.

Bajwa said that it's a national duty and the Army played a part in the significant initiatives undertaken by Pakistan and health care departments of the provinces. He thanked Gates for his Foundation's efforts towards the noble cause and said that every initiative aimed at betterment of Pakistan and its people will be fully supported and appreciated.

Last year, 144 polio cases were reported nationwide, far higher than 12 in 2018 and eight in 2017. According to the World Health Organisation, Pakistan is one of the three countries, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio is still endemic.

Pakistan has reported 5,834 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of infections in the country to 119,536. The total number of coronavirus-linked fatalities reached 2,356 after 101 patients died during the period.