Rotary International reaffirmed its commitment to stopping the spread of wild poliovirus in Pakistan on World Polio Day. The global organisation helped establish the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in 1988 to combat a disease that affected 350,000 children annually across 125 countries at that time.
Polio cases have since dropped by more than 99.9 percent, sparing over 20 million people from paralysis. Olayinka Hakeem Babalola, Rotary International President, said, "We have contributed more than US$3 billion—including US$1.3 million from Rotary members in Pakistan–and invested more than half a billion of these funds and countless volunteer hours to protect over 45 million children in Pakistan from this paralyzing disease."
Pakistan’s Polio Eradication Initiative observed World Polio Day on Friday under the theme "Shukriya Polio Frontline Workers – Celebrating the Champions of a Polio-Free Pakistan." Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, attended the ceremony alongside Ayesha Raza Farooq, the Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication.
More than 100 frontline workers from across the country participated in the event. Dr Malik Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath paid tribute to the nation's more than 400,000 polio frontline workers, noting that women make up over 60 per cent of this workforce.
Aziz Memon, chair of Rotary’s Pakistan National PolioPlus Committee, stated, "Pakistan is demonstrating strong progress with only a handful of reported cases this year, and in order to safeguard our credibility and maintain trust, we are continuing to address other community needs." The Committee has also assisted in setting up water filtration plants throughout Pakistan.
