ABU DHABI: As the world marks World Polio Day on October 24, Moazzam Ahmad Khan, the Ambassador of Pakistan to the UAE, has commended the UAE’s global efforts and financial contributions towards eradicating the polio virus and saving millions of children in Pakistan and other nations.
“We are very appreciative and grateful to the leadership of the UAE for helping the government of Pakistan in eradicating this disease and most importantly helping the people of Pakistan,” he said.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) also acknowledged the immense contributions the UAE has made to eradicate this debilitating disease.
As the WHO Pakistan reported, tens of millions of children in Pakistan have been vaccinated against polio since the launch of the Emirates Polio Campaign in 2014 under the UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme, UAE-PAP.
Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio continues to circulate, alongside Afghanistan and Nigeria. The country has registered an overall 97 per cent drop in wild polio virus cases since 2014, cases consistently dropped from 306 to 54 in 2015, 20 in 2016 and only eight in 2017. So far this year, six cases have been reported from Pakistan.
“Unfortunately, Pakistan is still one of those countries which are suffering from this disease, although, the number has significantly reduced thanks to the campaign supported and financed His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.”
In 2017 alone, more than 12.8 million children of Pakistan’s high-risk areas benefited from the UAE’s assistance through the administration of around 96 million polio drops. Between January and September 2018, with the UAE’s help, more than 92 million polio drops were given to 13.5 million children in Pakistan, according to WHO Pakistan.
“I understand under this initiative $120 million has been earmarked which has resulted in saving the lives of millions of children in Pakistan and the world over.”
Khan also spoke about special ties between the UAE and Pakistan, saying, “This is a very special relationship, which was founded by late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the Founding Father of the UAE. He had a special love for the people of Pakistan, and it is basically his legacy, that I am so glad to see, now being carried forward by his sons, by the leadership of the UAE.”
He also thanked H.H. Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, and Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation. “I will particularly like to mention Shaikha Fatima, the Mother of the Nation. The whole (UAE) family has a special love for the people of Pakistan.”
“And this legacy was started by Sheikh Zayed, and now it is being carried forward by his sons, the leadership of Abu Dhabi, and particularly, of course, I would like to share the Polio campaign under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammad has been launched,” he added.
The Ambassador went on to say that the number of polio cases has reduced significantly, “but, we still have some cases being reported, and we also need to keep in mind this disease is reoccurring, and cases are traceable particularly in the remote northern areas of Pakistan.”
The particular nature of the tribes in these areas are migratory tribes, the Ambassador explained, adding that the tribes keep moving from one place to another, making it difficult to keep track of those tribes and reaching individuals.
