SUKKUR: Pakistan’s goodwill ambassador for the eradication of polio, Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari, has saluted the courage of lady health workers (LHWs) and said they are the real heroes in the country’s war against the crippling disease.

Despite grave dangers to their lives, they walked from door to door to administer polio drops to children and many of their colleagues embraced martyrdom in the path of this noble cause, she said.

She said at the Sindh Vaccinators Convention held at the Sukkur Institute of Business Adminis­tration on Monday that sacrifices rendered by the LHWs had started bearing fruit as the country was close to meeting its goal of complete elimination of polio.

She said that Pakistan had waged a long and hard battle against polio. The number of polio cases last year stood at 300 which declined to 49 registered so far this year only because of untiring efforts of polio workers and health institutions. But the number was still on the higher side and needed the one last push to complete eradication, she cautioned.

She said that polio had been eradicated from almost the entire world except for Pakistan and Afghanistan. The prevention of the disease was just two drops away, the parents therefore were required to get their children vaccinated, she said.

She said that with united struggle and dedicated efforts, the dream of Benazir Bhutto for a polio-free Pakistan would be fulfilled soon.

Coordinator for Emer­gency Operation Centre (EOC) for Polio Dr Muham­mad Usman Chachar said that after the establishment of EOC in Sindh, the campaign against eradication of polio was being carried out successfully and the day was not far when Pakistan would be completely freed from the polio virus.

He said that only two countries remained in the world, Pakistan and Afghanistan, where the polio virus refused to die away. The year 2016 had been fixed as the final target for the elimination of polio from Pakistan, he said.

He said that after completion of polio campaigns, the polio workers would be absorbed in different sections of the health department keeping in view their performance and hard work.

Earlier, commissioners of Sukkur and Larkana divisions, Abbas Baloch and Ghulam Akbar Leghari, informed the gathering about the polio campaign and the problems it faced in their areas.

Towards the end of the convention, Aziz Memon of the Rotary Pakistan annou­nced awarding 1,000 solar-powered refrigerators to make polio campaign successful throughout Sindh and Aseefa Bhutto-Zardari and her elder sister Bakhat­war Bhutto-Zardari distributed certificates among LHWs of Sukkur and Lar­kana divisions for best performance.

Chairperson of Sindh Eme­­r­­gency Operation Centre for Polio, Azra Fazal Pechuho, Sindh secretary of health Saeed Ahmed Mang­nejo, director of Sukkur Institute of Business Administration Nisar Ahmed Siddiqui, representatives of national and international institutions fighting poliovirus also attended the convention.

Published in Dawn, December 8th, 2015