Shehbaz Sharif, Bill Gates discuss anti-polio campaign
Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif and Co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) Bill Gates held talks on the phone and discussed the anti-polio campaign in Pakistan.
In a telephonic conversation, the premier appreciated the valuable support of the BMGF to Pakistan in polio eradication and improving immunisation, nutrition, and financial inclusion in the country.
Expressing grave concern about the recent increase in the number of confirmed poliovirus cases in Pakistan in 2022, Shehbaz stressed that his government remained committed to ending all forms of polio in the country.
Gates reiterated the Foundation’s continued support to Pakistan for ensuring that no child is at risk of paralysis due to poliovirus.
One wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case was reported in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bringing the number of 2022 WPV1 cases to 13. In 2021, the number of WVP1 cases was one and the number of circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses (cVDPV2) cases was eight.