PESHAWAR: Japan has donated $3.1 million to eradicate polio in Pakistan and ensure millions of children remain safe from the crippling disease, the Pakistan Polio Programme said on Wednesday, as Islamabad desperately looks to grapple with an alarming surge in cases of the infection this year.
Pakistan, along with neighboring Afghanistan, remains the last polio-endemic country in the world. The country has so far reported 59 cases of the infection this year.
The nation’s polio eradication campaign has hit serious problems with a spike in reported cases this year that have prompted officials to review their approach to stopping the crippling disease.
“Today, the Government of Japan reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to Pakistan’s polio eradication efforts by supporting the program with a generous donation of $3.1 million,” the Pakistan Polio Programme said in a press release.
“This funding will ensure millions of children are protected from this crippling disease in 2025, leading us closer to a polio-free Pakistan.”
Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Ayesha Farooq expressed her gratitude to the Japanese government and highlighted the decades-long partnership between both nations in the “critical fight.”
“This generous grant reflects not only financial support but also the profound bond between our nations, rooted in a shared commitment to health equity and safeguarding of future generations,” she said.
“A heartfelt thanks to the Government and people of Japan, JICA (Japan International Cooperation Agency), and UNICEF for their enduring commitment to this life-saving cause. Together, we will achieve our goal of ensuring no child is left behind.”
Charge d’ Affairs ad interim of Japan Takano Shuichi, JICA Chief Representative Miyata Naoaki, UNICEF representative in Pakistan Abdullah Fadil and other officials from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative and Pakistan Polio Program team were in attendance during the grant ceremony, the statement added.
Of the 59 cases reported in 2024, 26 are from Balochistan province, 16 from KP, 15 from Sindh, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad, the federal capital.
Poliovirus, which can cause crippling paralysis, particularly in young children, is incurable and remains a threat to human health as long as it has not been eradicated. Immunization campaigns have succeeded in most countries and have come close in Pakistan, but persistent problems remain.
In the early 1990s, Pakistan reported around 20,000 cases annually but in 2018 the number dropped to eight cases. Six cases were reported in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Pakistan’s polio program began in 1994 but efforts to eradicate the virus have since been undermined by vaccine misinformation and opposition from some religious hard-liners, who say immunization is a foreign ploy to sterilize Muslim children or a cover for Western spies. Militant groups also frequently attack and kill members of polio vaccine teams.
Japan donates $3.1 million to eradicate polio in Pakistan amid alarming surge
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Japan donates $3.1 million to eradicate polio in Pakistan amid alarming surge
- Pakistan, with Afghanistan, remains last polio-endemic country
- Pakistan has so far this year reported 59 polio cases countrywide
Amid Middle East tensions, Pakistan says viral notice on temporary port shutdown is fake
- Viral fake notification claimed Pakistan suspended port entries until Mar. 10 over Middle East situation
- Tensions have surged in the region after US and Israel bombed Iran and killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s information ministry on Thursday dismissed as fabricated a notice circulating on social media platforms about Islamabad suspending all types of entry at the country’s ports, clarifying that no such order has been issued.
The clarification came after a notification that stated it was from the Cabinet Division went viral on social media. It claimed that the maritime affairs ministry, on the instructions of the Prime Minister’s Office, decided to order the temporary suspension of all types of entries at Pakistan’s ports till Mar. 10.
The notification claimed that the decision was applicable on the Karachi Port Trust, Port Qasim Authority, Gwadar Port Authority, Port of Pasni, Port of Ormara and the Port of Jiwani, saying the decision had been taken “in the interest of national security and strategic preparedness.”
“The notification is FABRICATED,” the information ministry’s Fact Checker account wrote on X. “No such order has been issued by the Cabinet Division or the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.”
Tensions have surged in the Middle East since Feb. 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise airstrikes against Iran after months of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program.
Iran confirmed on Sunday its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strikes as the Middle Eastern country retaliated with drone and missile attacks against US military installations in the UAE, Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
Pakistan has dismissed fears of a fuel shortage in the country, after the Strait of Hormuz was shut by Iran amid escalating hostilities between Tehran, the US and Israel. The conflict has disrupted tanker traffic through one of the world’s most important oil chokepoints.
Pakistan, which imports most of its fuel from Middle Eastern nations, has moved quickly to ensure its stock of petroleum products does not take a massive hit.
Pakistan has asked Saudi Arabia for help in securing crude oil supplies through the Red Sea port of Yanbu, the petroleum ministry said on Wednesday.
Pakistan’s Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority has also allowed oil companies to regulate supply to their retail outlets to prevent hoarding and artificial price hikes as tensions in the Gulf surge.
