National
December 30, 2020
ISLAMABAD: The Independent Monitor Board (IMB) has set out its concerns and observations about the less than satisfactory poliovirus situation in Pakistan.
The IMB, which provides an independent assessment of the progress being made by the Global Polio Eradication Initiative in the detection and interruption of polio transmission globally, has recently released its 19th and latest report. The situation in the four provinces is far from satisfactory and a sustained effort is needed to overcome the disease, the report said.
It said that Punjab had remained free of sustained wild poliovirus transmission for more than two years until mid-2018. Lahore has now become the epicentre of this transmission, with continuous detection of positive environmental samples and periodic incidence of polio cases. The sub-optimal quality of campaigns in parts of Lahore, many with migrant Pashtun communities, is largely responsible. It puts Lahore at risk of becoming an end