Polio drops mandatory for movement of FATA citizens

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Thursday decided to involve the Pakistan Army to ensure security on all FATA borders points and to regulate ingress of people from FATA to settled areas only if polio drops have been administered. National Coordinator for Polio Eradication Ayesha Raza Farooq called on the prime minister today in Islamabad, where she briefed him on the initiatives taken at the federal and provincial levels to make the campaign successful. Sharif said that it was his earnest desire to make Pakistan a country where no parents see their child crippled by polio. He noted the importance for demonstrating mutual resolve and collective will to achieve the cherished goal of complete eradication of polio from the country. Assuring complete support from the federal government, the prime minister expressed the hope that the provincial governments would further enhance their efforts and target the specified areas for optimal results. Besides these, the national coordinator was also directed to meet the Governor Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to ensure better access of polio workers. Sharif also decided to convene a meeting of the national task force on polio as soon as possible. Pakistan to implement WHO directives from June 1 Pakistan will put into effect from June an international recommendation that requires all travelers from the country to carry a polio vaccination certificate. Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended the measure due to the alarming increase in the number of polio cases in the country (61 so far compared to the total of 91 in 2013). The statistics serve as evidence that Pakistan has become the largest global source of polio infections. The WHO recommended that vaccination should be mandatory in Pakistan, Cameroon, and Syria, said WHO official in Pakistan Nima Abid. The WHO official also said that, according to evidence gathered, the “three countries have exported the virus recently”. Pakistan is one of the three countries where the disease is still endemic, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, and tops the rankings of the cases registered in the world so far. “We understand that Pakistani authorities need a few more weeks to implement the recommendation,” Abid said and also emphasised that the measure would be in effect for three months, which can later be extended. Mazhar Nisar, spokesperson for the health ministry, said the vaccination services were now available at ports, airports, border posts and health centres in “all the districts of the country”. “Anyone leaving Pakistan from June 1 should carry a vaccination certificate,” Nisar said. He also added that the measure would be applicable to foreign nationals who spend more than a month in Pakistani territory. The WHO and the government of Pakistan issued a joint statement Tuesday that they were closely working together in order to guarantee the availability of immunisation doses.