Kabul, 21 December 2016:- Polio High Council meeting held on Tuesday to provide full support for Polio Eradication Initiative (PEI) in Afghanistan, emphasizing on strengthen coordination among all polio partners and maintaining program neutrality to gain access to all children under the age of 5 with two drops of polio vaccine in very round of campaign.
The meeting was chaired by Dr. Najibullah Mujadidi, the Presidential Focal Point for Polio Eradication with participation of Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz, the Minister of Public Health and a number of representatives from line ministries of Afghan Government, donors and UN agencies including WHO and UNICEF.
Dr. Mujadidi while admiring the efforts and hard work of all polio teams and frontline health workers in conducting of successful polio vaccination campaigns, called on all line ministries and departments to provide full supports for the polio eradication program.
Meanwhile, Dr. Ferozuddin Feroz calling the polio eradication program as a national and global health priority added: “at the beginning of 2016, we said that we were closer to polio eradication than ever before. Today I can say that we are even closer than ever before. All data and information from Afghanistan and Pakistan indicates that the virus in the last polio reservoir is on the verge of extension. This means that the trend of the program improvement is encouraging.”
“During 2016, so far, 99% of the districts of the country did not report any virus circulation both from AFP cases and environment. This is a success which is recognized at the global level; thus, the momentum that has been taken by the government of Afghanistan and its partner should not be interrupted, but be further strengthened. I would like to state that this success would not have been possible without the strong commitment at the leadership of the government from the presidential palace to the leadership of all line ministries.” Dr. Feroz added.
Likewise, some other participants spoke on the issue and expressed their strong support for national polio eradication program to make Afghanistan polio-free country.
