Japan renews commitment to bring Pakistan closer to becoming polio free

The Government of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) signed an agreement of 360,000,000 Japanese Yen (US$ 2,981,554) worth grant today to support interruption of the wild polio virus in Pakistan.

The grant will help procurement of 16,078,990 doses of the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV); sufficient to vaccinate 14,356,241 children under the age of five in ten mop-up campaigns during 2016. Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, Prime Minister Focal Person for Polio Eradication, applauded the grant say- ing: "The Government of Japan has been consistently helping children in Pakistan. These funds come at a critical juncture as the virus is cornered in just three remaining sanctuaries - the Khyber-Peshawar corridor, Karachi and the Quetta block.

"A determined focus on delivering high quality campaigns for the remainder of the low season and finding every missed child is critical to ensure the virus cannot survive and spread", adds Senator Farooq.

At the signing ceremony, Mr. Junya Matsuura, Charge d'Affaires ad interim of Japan to Pakistan expressed his appreciation for the significant progress of the polio eradication pro- gramme in 2015 and emphasized the importance of solidarity of all stakeholders. He also said, "Japan's commitment and strong partnership with the Government of Pakistan and UNICEF will continue to complete polio eradication in Pakistan".

Senior Joint Secretary Dr. Amer Sheikh said on this occasion, Pakistan is one of the last two countries still facing menace of polio. Government of Pakistan with the support of its partner and donors has been able to markedly reduce the incidence of polio in the country. However to eradicate polio completely, Pakistan would require support from its both bilateral and multilateral partners.

Dr. Amer Sheikh said Government of Japan for their continual support to Government of Pakistan in its efforts to eradicate polio. The Government of Japan has been consistently helping children in Pakistan. These funds come at a critical juncture as the virus is concentrated in just three remaining sanctuaries - the Khyber-Peshawar corridor, Karachi and the Quetta block. A determined focus on delivering high quality campaigns for the remainder of the low season and finding every missed child is critical to ensure the virus cannot survive and spread. Today's ceremony is another step towards eradication of polio from Pakistan.