Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: A grant of US$ four million will be provided to Pakistan for ‘the Project for the Control and Eradication of Poliomyelitis’ which will support the procurement of 3.9 million doses of the Inactivated Polio Vaccine (IPV) and associated items, sufficient to vaccinate 3.3 million children between 4 to 23 months of age in the highest risk districts of the polio virus in Pakistan.

In this connection Government of Japan, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have signed an agreement of Japanese Yen 404 million (US$ 4 million) grant for eeradication and control of Poliomyelitis.

This will support procurement of 3.9 million doses of the IPV and associated items which will be sufficient to vaccinate 3.3 million children between 4 to 23 months of age in the highest risk districts of the polio virus in Pakistan.

Addressing the agreement signing ceremony, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication said, “The current polio virus picture for Pakistan is the best ever seen. We are most definitely at a crossroad now – we are close but we will need everyone’s commitment to reach our goal. I take this opportunity to extend the appreciation and gratitude to Government of Japan for its unwavering support to Pakistan’s effort to reach every missed child, and to end polio forever”.

Takashi Kurai, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Pakistan expressed optimism about headway in polio control.