Punjab Health Minister Khawaja Imran Nazir has said that Punjab has become polio-free, adding that Punjab’s environmental polio samples have remained negative since December.
Addressing a press conference, Khawaja Imran Nazir said that Pakistan is unfortunately one of the countries affected by polio, and people have to take polio drops when traveling abroad. He stated that polio now remains only in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He added that the Chief Minister has directed authorities to work on polio eradication, and that Punjab’s environmental samples have turned negative. “Punjab has become polio-free and has entered the green category,” he said.
He expressed hope that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, and the entire country would also become polio free.
The health minister said that the entire Health Department team has succeeded in eliminating the polio virus from Punjab. He added that the achievement was also made possible due to the efforts of the Chief Secretary Punjab and the Health Secretary, while anti polio teams worked day and night to achieve this success.
