Peshawar, July 13; Members of the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa expressed their strong commitment towards making Pakistan and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa polio free. They were joined at a PILDAT Briefing Session held today on the subject of Polio Emergency in Pakistan.
Honourable Speaker, Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mr. Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani, chaired the Briefing Session. Addressing the session, he said that PILDAT had also played a very important role in the awareness of MPAs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about nine years ago when polio was on the rise and travel sanctions were anticipated. He also stressed the need for addressing the mistrust and myths surrounding the polio vaccine and asked MPAs to be more involved with their constituents for removal of misconceptions about the polio vaccine.
Ms. Rabia Basri, MPA and Chairperson Standing Committee on Health said that misconceptions about the polio vaccine need to be addressed, adding that it is the safest vaccines of all. She said that MPAs need to talk to communities and convince them to vaccinate their children through polio campaigns.
In his presentation Mr. Abdul Basit, Coordinator Emergency Operation Center, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa briefed MPAs on the current situation of Polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pakistan. He asked for the cooperation of the elected members in addressing the misconceptions and stressed for an effective role of members during polio campaigns.
Earlier, welcoming the participants, Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, President PILDAT said that in these COVID times although our main focus is vaccination against COVID but the Polio situation also cannot be overlooked. Even though polio cases in Pakistan are on a decline, strong and sustained efforts are needed to completely eradicate the disease. Elected representatives of KP Assembly can play a leading role in this regard.
The briefing session was followed by an engaging question and answer session. The KP MPAs who joined the briefing session included Mr. Nisar Momand (ANP), Ms. Sajida Hanif (PTI), Mian Nisar Gul (ANP), Ms. Baseerat Khan (BAP), Ms. Shahida (ANP), Ms. Anita Mehsud (PTI), Mr. Salahuddin Mohmand (ANP), Mr. Wajidullah Khan (PTI), Ms. Rabia Basri (PTI), Mr. Wilson Wazir (PTI), Syed Fakhar Jehan (PTI), Mr. Ranjeet Singh (MMAP), Ms. Ayesha Bano (PTI), Mr. Waqar Ahmed Khan (ANP), Dr. Aasiya Asad (PTI), Ms. Zeenat Bibi (PTI), Ms. Rehana Ismail (JUI), Mr. Abdus Salam (PTI), Ms. Naeema Kishwar (JUI) and Mr. Ajmal Khan (PTI).
