Japan to provide US$ 3.85m to procure polio vaccines
By Ali Imran

ISLAMABAD—The government of Japan has assured its continues support for the polio eradication initiative in Pakistan by extending a grant of US$ 3.85 million to procure 27.77 million doses of oral polio vaccine.
These anti-polio drops will be administered to 35 million children under the age of five years across the country during the year 2007 that constitutes 9.3% of the total requirement.
An official notes in this regard were signed and exchanged on Friday between Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan Seiji Kojima and Officer Incharge UNICEF Pakistan Terje Thodesen. Minister for Health also witnessed the signing ceremony.
Addressing the ceremony Minister for Health Muhammad Nasir Khan said the vaccine that UNICEF would purchase from the assistance provided by the Japanese government is of the highest quality from global WHO approved manufacturers.
He said the government is fully committed at every level to saving children from the crippling disease of polio. He said through national immunization campaigns thousands of children are saved from the divesting effects of the poliovirus.
The minister said the country has made tangible progress over years in containing the poliovirus and 99.9% of the disease has been eradicated.
According to international experts if we are not having these campaigns around 20,000 children would be paralysed from polio each year in Pakistan, he added.
He said Japan’s continued and consistent support to the initiative aimed at saving Pakistani children from a disease that causes life-long disability.
Nasir Khan said the worldwide success of the polio eradication initiative reflects years of hard work by individuals and nations to protect country’s future from disability.
He said a major step has been taken by launching a three-day cross-border vaccination drive to stop the transmission of poliovirus across the Pak-Afghan border. The minister said a grand Jirga was held at Pak-Afghan border to formally launch joint anti-polio drive across the border, adding the response of tribal elders and community to this initiative was overwhelming.
He said as a result of this step a new era of co-operation in the health sector between the two countries has begun. He said three-day campaign launched in the border areas of the two countries has achieved good coverage through establishment of health posts on border-crossing.
Nasir Khan said religious scholars are being increasingly engaged in creating awareness regarding polio-free world, while the ministry is also getting support from political leaders of religious parities.
Ambassador of Japan, Seiji Kojima said this grant embodies the priority which the government of Japan and UNICEF attach to eradicating the deadly poliomyelitis disease.
He said in the polio eradication programme the government of Japan has so far contributed a sum of US$ 70 million approximately. He said the success of polio vaccination is visible as statistics related to the disease show a decreasing trend in the number of reported polio cases in Pakistan.
“ Our target is to bring to an end the transmission of the debilitating poliovirus. This is certainly achievable through our continues collaboration and with the involvement of tireless assistance of the health workers, volunteers and community workers.” He expressed the hope that this grant will be used effectively to alleviate the suffering of all the children.
Secretary Health Syed Anwar Mahmoood and other senior officials of the Ministry of Health, Japan Embassy and UNICEF were also present on the occasion.