The U.A.E. Pakistan Assistance Programme announced that over 5.8 million Pakistani children were vaccinated against polio during the months of June and July, in implementation of the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to boost the health sector's preventive programmes in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
The move also comes in line with the initiative of His Highness General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the U.A.E. Armed Forces, to eradicate polio worldwide.
The programme said the U.A.E. vaccination campaign has scored huge success by exceeding the targeted sector by higher percentages in 23 areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the tribal region. It vaccinated 3, 486,069 in June, and 2, 388, 031 in July, bringing the total number of the vaccinated children to 5, 870, 500.
The administration of the programme noted that during July the vaccination was stepped up in the displaced people areas and the tribal region to reach out for those not yet vaccinated for years. It managed to vaccinate 2, 380, 831 children under six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the tribal region.
It emphasised the importance of the Sheikh Mohammed's initiative to eradicate polio in the world's most difficult and disease incubator areas, adding that the initiative reflects the U.A.E. leadership humanitarian support to people of Pakistan, who had helped the campaign to carry out its work easily and successfully. They appreciated the U,A.E. and its leadership for their humanitarian stance.
Earlier the World Health Organisation warned of the danger of polio epidemic in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, which recorded in 2011the highest number of polio cases in 10 years, a total of 198 cases. In 2012 a total of 58 cases were recorded, while in 2013, a total of 93 cases were recorded. In the first seven months of this year, 99 cases were recorded, compared to 24 cases in the same period in 2013. Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world, which remain polio-endemic.
Source: WAM