LAHORE: Heads of nine key community organisations in Punjab have pledged their full support to eradicate polio from the province, extending their cooperation from major cities to all districts.
The commitment was made at a jirga, organised at the office of the Director General Health Punjab here on Thursday, attended by over 30 representatives from significant community organisations including Pakhtun Falahi Tanzeem, Mohmand Loya Jirga, Afghan Refugees Aman Committee, Khattak Welfare Association, Marwat Welfare Association, Bajaur Ittehad, Hazara Welfare Organisation, Minzal Welfare Organisation, and Pakhtun Qabail Movement.
The session was chaired by Khizer Afzaal, the head of the polio programme in Punjab and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) Coordinator. During the jirga, the organisations reviewed past initiatives aimed at eradicating polio in Punjab, such as awareness campaigns, blood donations, and the provision of volunteers for transit points and polio worker teams.
All representatives and heads of
organisations unanimously agreed to support polio eradication activities and assist polio teams in their neighborhoods to ensure all children are vaccinated. They committed to expanding this cooperation across Punjab, beyond major cities like Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Faisalabad.
Afzaal acknowledged the significant support from priority communities in overcoming community reluctance and providing human resources in priority neighborhoods. ‘Community reluctance has declined with your support. The human resources provided by the priority community, in terms of teams visiting households and vaccinating children, are yielding positive results. Years ago, thousands of children missed vaccination due to community reluctance. But with your support, Punjab has been able to overcome that, which is commendable,’ he stated.
However, he urged the organisation heads to expand their cooperation to other major cities, help the programme identify more language-appropriate polio workers, and provide additional human resources
for polio teams. He also highlighted observations from the Polio Oversight Board delegates, noting the international community’s special interest in eradicating polio from Pakistan. ‘As long as polio is endemic in Pakistan and Afghanistan, no country and no child on the globe is safe from polio. So the international community is genuinely concerned about the risk of polio spread in Pakistan,’ Mr. Afzaal emphasised.
He noted that while Punjab had been polio-free for the last three years, the virus continued to be detected in key cities, indicating a persistent risk of polio virus importation. Afzaal highlighted the challenges posed by population movements within the country and urged participants to enhance coordination with local authorities, particularly regarding the arrival of new communities from other regions. He also underscored the importance of routine immunization, calling on community elders to ensure all children receive timely vaccinations against other preventable diseases.
The jirga concluded
with a renewed commitment from all participating organisations to support polio eradication efforts and enhance collaboration across Punjab, ensuring the protection of all children from this debilitating disease.