'One Vision Initiative' to combat polio continues at Islamabad's Fatima Jinnah Park
The Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme on Sunday launched the second day of its two-day anti-polio drive at Fatima Jinnah Park in Islamabad.
According to a press release by the Programme, the initiative "is an advocacy initiative focused on raising awareness about polio in Pakistan and bringing Pakistani citizens together in support of the cause".
The event was attended by hundreds of citizens from the twin-cities who all got ‘I AM ERADICATING POLIO!’ stickers pasted onto their vehicles as a reflection of their commitment to the cause.
Families and children also took pictures in front of an interactive selfie booth put up at the park for participants' engagement and wrote messages of support on the ‘#I Am Eradicating Polio’ pledge wall.
The Prime Minister's Focal Person on Polio Eradication Babar Bin Atta while addressing the event said that "a lack of awareness about the polio virus and resistance to the polio vaccine in parts of the country has triggered a rise in polio cases in Pakistan this year".
He said that the 'One Vision Initiative' will soon be launched across the country, "especially in those districts and localities where awareness is low and resistance and refusals to the vaccine has been high”.
The initiative is expected to help foster an understanding about the dangers of polio, improve the national discourse on polio and its eradication, and bring together people from all walks of life to help end the threat of this deadly virus, according to the Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme handout.