ISLAMABAD: Federal Health Minister Mustafa Kamal on Tuesday called for a major policy shift to ensure effective vaccination campaigns and emphasised the importance of unity and public participation in this national mission.

While chairing a review meeting on polio eradication, alongside the Prime Minister’s Focal Person Ayesha Raza Farooq, the minister said that although cancer could be treated, polio remained an incurable disease, requiring extraordinary efforts to eliminate the virus.

He questioned why Pakistan has not been able to eradicate polio when Palestine remains polio-free despite being at war.

He stated that just as Pakistanis had defeated India as one nation, they could certainly defeat polio as well.

During the meeting, a review of the recent nationwide polio vaccination campaign was presented.

Over 45 million children were administered polio drops. National and provincial coordinators shared updates on ongoing eradication efforts.

Mustafa Kamal stressed that protecting children from polio is a collective national responsibility, requiring urgent and sustained efforts from all sectors of society. He urged parents to proactively engage with polio workers and ensure their children’s immunization, reminding them that safeguarding children’s health is a matter of accountability in both this life and the hereafter.

“Only two countries in the world still face the threat of polio,” he noted, referring to ongoing campaigns in Afghanistan, which he said were effectively supported by the Taliban government.

He expressed hope that both Pakistan and Afghanistan could achieve polio-free status simultaneously.

The minister concluded by urging the nation to rise to the challenge, saying, “If we can defeat India as one nation, we can certainly defeat polio. If Palestine remains polio-free despite war, then what are we waiting for?”

The Federal Health Ministry reaffirmed its commitment to intensifying eradication efforts to ensure a polio-free Pakistan in the near future.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2025