Honourable Minister of Health Services, Regulation and Coordination Ms Saira Afzal Tarar; Canadian High Commissioner Ms Heather Cruden; Representatives of WHO, UNICEF and polio programme at a ceremony to mark the Canadian Government's contribution of C$40 million to polio eradication in PakistanIslamabad, 12 April 2016 – Canada has announced a contribution of $ 40 million Canadian dollars to support the eradication of polio in Pakistan over the next 3 years.
The contribution from the Government of Canada will strengthen community support for polio eradication, raise awareness and support recruitment and training for a community-based vaccinators’ project, implemented by UNICEF, while WHO will strengthen supplementary immunization operations, campaign and post-campaign monitoring, surveillance and monitoring efforts to detect and track the poliovirus.
Only by joining our efforts and combining resources, can we win the fight against poliovirus. Because the poliovirus can spread across national borders, it has the potential to affect any of us, regardless of our ethnicity, culture or religion. We are all in this fight together,” said Ms Heather Cruden, High Commissioner of Canada to Pakistan.
Acknowledging the commitment by Canada at a ceremony at the Ministry of National Health Services Regulation and Coordination, the Honourable Minister Saira Tarar said Pakistan had never been closer to eradication of polio. “When we defeat polio, it will motivate us to aim for other great health and development milestones for the children of Pakistan. The Government of Canada has long been a generous supporter of Pakistan and the support and leadership extended will go a long way to helping us ensure that the children of Pakistan will be free from this crippling disease.”
Pakistan's progress against polio
Pakistan is making significant progress in the fight against polio, this according to international oversight bodies, such as the Independent Monitoring Board for Polio Eradication, the Pakistan Polio Technical Advisory Group and the World Health Assembly. Last year, Pakistan achieved an 82% reduction in the number of children affected by polio, down to 54 cases compared to 306 in 2014.
“Pakistan is the closest it has ever been to eradication. This renewed support to WHO will strengthen supplementary immunization activities and acute flaccid paralysis surveillance, which is a compass to measure the progress on this global work in Pakistan. As Pakistan moves closer to eradication a robust surveillance system will be critical to the effort. We are extremely grateful to the Canadian Government for the commitment it continues to make to polio eradication in Pakistan,” said Dr Lamia Mahmoud acting WHO Representative in Pakistan.
“We have already significantly increased the number of vaccinators and empowered them to vaccinate children most at risk. There has been real progress in reducing the number of new infections. The support from the Government of Canada is a massive boost in the battle to rid Pakistan of the scourge of polio. This investment will ensure future generations in Pakistan will no longer have their lives blighted by this crippling disease and Canada has contributed significantly to living up to this commitment,” said Cristian Munduate, UNICEF Deputy Representative in Pakistan.
Every last child
The polio eradication programme in Pakistan has undertaken a key strategic shift from quantity to quality campaigns, moving the focus to children who are being consistently missed in campaigns, putting frontline workers at the centre of eradication efforts and establishing emergency operation centres to ensure greater coordination, planning and oversight for operations, which has led to the improvements witnessed in 2015.
Canada is one of the leading supporters of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s goal of eradicating polio by 2018, and contributing to the fight against polio in several critical countries, including Pakistan.