WHO, Gates Foundation and Unicef laud Karachi’s anti-polio fight

Representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (Unicef) and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation met Karachi Commissioner Iqbal Memon on Thursday.

The commissioner told the delegation not a single case of the polio virus had surfaced in the port city for last one year. The WHO director for Eastern Mediterranean Region, Dr Hamid Jafri, and WA Machael Galway, deputy director Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for Polio Programme Strategy and Implementation Seattle, are currently visiting Pakistan. They appreciated the good work carried out by the Karachi administration for the eradication of polio in the city.

Unicef deputy team leader in Pakistan Dr Millhia Abdul Kader, Director WHO Polio Eradication based in Islamabad Dr Zainul Abedin, Coordinator Emergency Operation Centre Fayaz Jatoi and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation representative Dr Ahmed Ali Shaikh also attended the meeting.

Commissioner Memon said no polio case had been reported in Karachi for the last one year, as all the polio environmental samples collected from seven districts of the metropolis were found negative. He said polio environmental samples tests were collected from the seven districts of Karachi and they were analyzed by the relevant health experts.

He said the city administration would continue its efforts for the eradication of polio till Pakistan become a polio-free country. The delegation appreciated the effort of the city administration and deputy commissioners, saying that it was a great challenge to work on this issue.

They also appreciated how the local administration administered polio drops to children in a challenged environment. They hoped that the efforts to eradicate polio would continue with the same pace in future as well.