ISLAMABAD: The health ministry said on Tuesday that mandatory polio immunisation points will be established at international airports across the country in response to recommendations by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
On Monday, the WHO recommended strict travel restrictions on Pakistan due to increasing cases of polio in the country, making it mandatory for Pakistani citizens to carry a polio vaccination certificate during foreign travel.
“Special measures will include establishing mandatory immunisation counters on all airports, border crossings and seaports for all travellers,” a foreign news agency quoted the ministry spokesman Sajid Ali Shah as saying.
Meanwhile, speaking on the floor of the National Assembly on Tuesday, the minister of state for national health services Saira Afzal Tarar said that the federal government has convened a meeting of all the provincial health ministers and representatives of health departments tomorrow (Wednesday) to devise a strategy to make the country free of polio.
The state minister said that the number of polio cases has increased due to several reasons including law and order situation in the country and issue of Dr. Shakeel Afridi.
Saira Afzal Tarar said that said the cases were reported in FATA, Peshawar and some areas of Karachi. She said that in Balochistan no case has been reported during the last two years and in Punjab for the last one year.
The prime minister is taking personal interest to address the issue and also held meeting with WHO head in this regard, she added.
The minister said that Imam-e-Kaaba is also expected to visit Pakistan next month and his help will also be sought in this regard, adding that the religious scholars are also onboard on this issue.
