The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme organized a media engagement session at the National Emergency Operations Centre for Polio Eradication (NEOC) in Islamabad to strengthen collaboration and foster greater media engagement in the ongoing fight against polio.

The event brought together health reporters from various print, electronic, and online media outlets, aiming to provide them with accurate data, present the programme's current strategy to fight poliovirus, and address media questions ahead of the nationwide polio vaccination campaign set to begin on October 28, 2024.

The Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ms. Ayesha Raza Farooq led the session and provided journalists with critical updates on the current status of the polio programme efforts in the country. NEOC Coordinator Mr Anwarul Haq presented the key challenges facing the eradication efforts, including persistent vaccine hesitancy, population movement, and security concerns in high-risk areas that affect consistent access to children with the vaccine.

Ms. Ayesha Raza emphasized the government’s strong commitment to polio eradication from the highest office of PM to the provincial and district levels and said that polio eradication is being taken forward as national priority agenda with a consensus roadmap being implemented to interrupt virus transmission by mid-2025.

Speaking about the resurgence of poliovirus this year, she said that 39 polio cases have been reported this year which highlights that the Programme is maintaining effective disease surveillance and not missing the virus anywhere in the country.

“Protecting our children from the scourge of polio remains our collective topmost priority,” she said. “While we are concerned about the surge, every new virus detection is taken as an opportunity to better understand the current dynamics of virus transmission which in turn helps us in refining the response and curb its further spread.”