ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday launched a nationwide anti-polio campaign for the year 2025 (Feb 3-9) by administering polio drops to children under the age of five.
Addressing the launching ceremony, the prime minister reaffirmed his government’s determination to eliminate the polio disease from Pakistan. He said the national polio vaccination drive would target millions of children in the country to save their future and health.
He hoped that the dedicated teams would work day and night to eradicate the disease, and would reach the far-flung areas and villages, adding these teams would successfully meet the huge national responsibility by utilizing their complete energies.
The prime minister said that unfortunately, during the last year, a total of 77 polio cases were reported in the country which emerged as a huge challenge, besides posing a setback.
This year, only one case was reported, he said, and expressed the resolve to eradicate polio at all costs, with dedicated team work and support from the international partners.
The prime minister also expressed the hope that with international coordination and support, the crippling disease in the neighbouring brotherly country Afghanistan would end.
He appreciated all the international partners including WHO, UNICEF, Bill Gates Foundation and the brotherly country Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their commitment and support to the government in its efforts to eliminate polio.
Speaking on the occasion, PM’s Coordinator on National Health Services Dr Mukhtar Bharat said that they had highlighted the number of polio cases which were reported last year and did not hide it from the international community. He said that positive outcome was being felt with concerted efforts by all the quarters and only one case was reported this year.
He also appreciated the prime minister for his supervision without which they would not be able to get the desired results.
PM’s Focal Person on Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq said polio vaccination was a public campaign in which all segments of society have to take part and urged parents to coordinate and save their children from polio.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will deliver a speech on governance at the Dubai World Governments Summit 2025, slated for February 11-13, which he will attend besides more than 30 heads of state/government. He will be among guests of honour.
Highly placed sources told The News here Sunday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will hold important meetings with United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Prime Minister UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who is also the ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the Emirates and Bangladesh leader and Chief Adviser Dr. Muhammad Yunus.
More than 400 ministers from various countries, and thousands of industry leaders, experts, and policymakers will participate in the event. More than 80 international, regional and inter-governmental organisations would join the discussion on the future of governance, global challenges and their innovative solutions.
Presidents of Indonesia, Poland, Sri Lanka, and Colombia, alongside the Prime Ministers of Kuwait, Armenia, Kenya, Libya, Georgia while 27 international organisations, including the World Economic Forum (WEF), International Monetary Fund (IMF), International Energy Agency (IEA), UNESCO, the Arab League (AL), and the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC), will be represented.
A key highlight will be the TIME 100 AI gathering, which will convene 100 of the world’s most influential AI experts to discuss the transformative role of artificial intelligence in shaping the future. The private sector will also have a prominent presence. Among the notable private sector figures attending are the CEOs of Google, Alibaba, Oracle, MasterCard, CNN, IBM, HP, SAP, Dow Jones, AstraZeneca, Baidu, The Economist, and Vodafone.
The summit will celebrate excellence in governance through five awards. These include the Best Minister in the World Award, the Innovative Government Solutions Award, the Global Award for Best Government Applications, the Global Government Excellence Award, and the Best Teacher in the World Award.
The sources said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be visiting Qatar before returning home after attending the Dubai summit. He will be having overnight stay in Doha.
