LAHORE – The national and provincial leadership has reaffirmed its commitment to ending polio in Pakistan by finalising a comprehensive “Road to Zero” strategy during a two-day National Polio Management Team (NPMT) meeting, which concluded here on Friday.
“Road to Zero” strategy aims to close the final gap by enhancing campaign quality, strengthening routine immunisation, combating misinformation, and ensuring every child, regardless of location, receives the polio vaccine.
The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister’s Focal Person on Polio, Ms. Ayesha Raza Farooq, and attended by Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) coordinators from all four provinces as well as representatives from Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Senior officials from the federal government, partner agencies, and development organisations were also present.
“Despite the odds, our frontline workers are doing a remarkable job”, said Ayesha Raza Farooq, adding that substantial progress has been made in areas such as surveillance quality, campaign performance, and risk communication. “This year, we will approach things differently. Out-of-the-box solutions must be applied to reach every missed child and eradicate polio once and for all,” she stated.
Ms. Farooq emphasised the critical importance of the pre-campaign phase of Supplementary Immunisation Activities (SIAs) to ensure successful outcomes and lasting impact. She also highlighted the growing synergy between the Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) and the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI), terming it a pivotal element for polio eradication.
“We must keep our foot on the accelerator in every part of the country. Success can only be achieved by working as one cohesive team,” she stressed. She called for transparent and meaningful accountability at all levels to ensure efficiency and credibility.
Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by the poliovirus, primarily affecting children under the age of five. It can cause irreversible paralysis and, in some cases, death. Although there is no cure, the disease is preventable through safe and effective vaccines.
Pakistan remains one of only two countries in the world, along with Afghanistan, where wild poliovirus transmission has never been interrupted.
