Ulama meet weighs polio challenge
Polio eradication challenges, the composition of the oral vaccines and causes behind some people’s resistance to it are on agenda
MUSCAT: The Joint Afghanistan-Pakistan Eminent Ulama Conference for Supporting Polio Eradication commenced at Sheraton Hotel yesterday.
The conference was inaugurated by Dr. Darwish bin Saif Al Muharbi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health for Administrative and Financial Affairs in the presence of Sheikh Dr. Kahlan bin Nabhan al-Kharousi, Assistant Grand Mufti of the Sultanate along with Dr. Ahmed Al Mandhari, World Health Organisation (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region.
The two-day conference, which is hosted by the Sultanate, represented by the Ministry of Health (MOH), is organised by the Islamic Advisory Group for Polio Eradication from Al Azhar Al Sharif, Dar Al-Ifta Al-Masreya, Darul Uloom Deoband, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Islamic Development Bank.
The conference touches on the current situation and challenges of polio eradication, the composition of Oral poliovirus vaccines (OPV), the root causes behind refusals the vaccine and other issues.
Dr. Al Muharbi welcomed in his speech the religious scholars and practitioners participating in the conference. He stressed the importance of health in development and growth of the communities in the world.
Sheikh Kahlan Al Kharousi affirmed the importance accorded by Islam to health and care to raise individuals and maintain the Muslim generations in terms of healthy and strong physical body.
He highlighted the importance of community cooperation for the benefit of the human beings, communities and nations.
Dr. Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region affirmed that polio is a crippling disease that paralyses children without the possibility of treatment. He said, “In the past, around 1,000 children around the world were infected by the disease every day. But with the development of a safe vaccine that was used to vaccinate every child worldwide, we have succeeded in bringing polio to the brink of eradication.