ISLAMABAD: Rawalpindi and Islamabad are still polio hot spots and there are hurdles to eradicating polio here as the virus is still being found in environment samples,” said Dr Rana Safdar, national coordinator for Emergency Operation Centre.

Dr Safdar was speaking to those attending a farewell gathering for outgoing Unicef country representative in Pakistan, Angela Kearney on Wednesday.

He said efforts were underway to eradicate polio and that dedicated national and global partners were together fighting the virus across the country.

“All areas are equally important and we cannot afford a lenient approach at this point in time. Routine immunisation is still an issue as all the three cases of 2017 have been of zero routine immunisation,” he said.

Former prime minister’s focal person for polio eradication, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq said Unicef has played an active role in helping Pakistan getting closer to eradicating polio altogether.

“Angela and her team will be remembered for their valuable contributions towards the progress of the polio program,” she said.

Ms Farooq said Pakistan continues to make strides towards the goal of wild polio virus (WPV) interruption and that as of Wednesday, Pakistan has only reported three WPV cases in 2017 when 14 had been reported in the same time period last year. She said this signifies a decline of almost 80pc.

“With the full presence of community based vaccinators and successful implementation of different strategies to consistently reach all children, stopping transmission looks well within reach,” Ms Kearney said.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2017