ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s caretaker health minister Dr. Nadeem Jan said on Tuesday he was formulating a comprehensive strategy to curtail poliovirus transmission from Afghanistan, emphasizing the disease would continue pose a risk to his country unless it was completely eradicated from the neighboring state.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries where polio remains a significant threat to children’s health. The disease, which targets the nervous system and causes paralysis, remains a pressing concern for both nations.
Last week, health authorities in Pakistan identified poliovirus traces in environmental samples obtained from Rawalpindi city in the eastern part of the country, observing that the isolated virus shared a genetic similarity with a prevalent cluster circulating in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province.
“I am strengthening the polio vaccination system at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border on an emergency basis,” the minister said on Tuesday during a meeting with the European Union’s ambassador to Pakistan Riina Kionka, according to a statement from the health ministry.
“[Both neighboring countries should form a] joint integrated strategy to stop the transmission of the virus at the border,” he continued.
The minister, who said that polio eradication would feature prominently among his principal priorities in the coming months on his first day in office on August 18, also revealed that he had written a letter to his Afghan counterpart to visit Pakistan and hold a discussion over the issue.
Dr. Jan further mentioned he had allocated 60 percent of his office hours to polio eradication efforts, reaffirming he would take all possible measures to make Pakistan polio-free.
The minister also informed Pakistan would soon be hosting a high-level meeting focusing on the global health security agenda, involving the participation of experts and stakeholders from around the world.
As per the official records, Pakistan has documented two cases of polio and 15 confirmed positive environmental samples in the current year. Meanwhile, Afghanistan has reported five polio cases and identified 33 positive environmental samples.
Pakistan’s health minister says working on strategy to counter poliovirus threat from Afghanistan
https://arab.news/ygfq6
Pakistan’s health minister says working on strategy to counter poliovirus threat from Afghanistan
- Dr. Nadeem Jan tells the EU ambassador Pakistan will remain at risk unless the virus is completely eradicated in Afghanistan
- Pakistani health minister has also written a letter to his Afghan counterpart, asking him to visit Islamabad for discussion over the issue
EU, Pakistan sign €60 million loan agreement for clean drinking water in Karachi
- Project will finance rehabilitation, construction of water treatment facilities in Karachi city, says European Investment Bank
- As per a report in 2023, 90 percent of water samples collected from various places in city was deemed unfit for drinking
ISLAMABAD: The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Pakistan’s government on Wednesday signed a €60 million loan agreement, the first between the two sides in a decade, to support the delivery of clean drinking water in Karachi, the EU said in a statement.
The Karachi Water Infrastructure Framework, approved in August this year by the EIB, will finance the rehabilitation and construction of water treatment facilities in Pakistan’s most populous city of Karachi to increase safe water supply and improve water security.
The agreement was signed between the two sides at the sidelines of the 15th Pak-EU Joint Commission in Brussels, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“Today, the @EIB signed its first loan agreement with Pakistan in a decade: a €60 million loan supporting the delivery of clean drinking water for #Karachi,” the EU said on social media platform X.
Radio Pakistan said the agreement reflects Pakistan’s commitment to modernize essential urban services and promote climate-resilient infrastructure.
“The declaration demonstrates the continued momentum in Pakistan-EU cooperation and highlights shared priorities in sustainable development, public service delivery, and climate and environmental resilience,” it said.
Karachi has a chronic clean drinking water problem. As per a Karachi Water and Sewerage Corporation (KWSC) study conducted in 2023, 90 percent of water from samples collected from various places in the city was deemed unsafe for drinking purposes, contaminated with E. coli, coliform bacteria, and other harmful pathogens.
The problem has forced most residents of the city to get their water through drilled motor-operated wells (known as ‘bores’), even as groundwater in the coastal city tends to be salty and unfit for human consumption.
Other options for residents include either buying unfiltered water from private water tanker operators, who fill up at a network of legal and illegal water hydrants across the city, or buying it from reverse osmosis plants that they visit to fill up bottles or have delivered to their homes.
The EU provides Pakistan about €100 million annually in grants for development and cooperation. This includes efforts to achieve green inclusive growth, increase education and employment skills, promote good governance, human rights, rule of law and ensure sustainable management of natural resources.
