The French Development Agency (AFD) has offered to fill the funding gap of the Pakistani government in their fight against polio by joining the global polio eradication partners.
A statement was released by the Health Ministry that detailed a visit from a delegation from the AFD and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
The delegation met with the Special Health Secretary and visited the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) for Polio Eradication.
The delegation was in Pakistan for a week-long visit to aid the country in terms of health and social protection.
The AFD in a briefing at the NEOC, committed to providing technical support, such as immunization activities, disease surveillance, and campaign monitoring, as well as to fill the funding gap of $55 million for 2022-2026 PC-1 for polio eradication.
The AFD delegation was headed by Agnès Soucat, Director of Health and Social Protection, and the Gates Foundation delegation was led by Jay Wegner, Global Head for Polio Eradication.
After the meeting, the Country’s Representatives of WHO and Unicef discussed the polio infrastructure’s role in responding to Covid-19 and recent floods.
Special Health Secretary Mirza Nasiruddin Mashhood Ahmad expressed his appreciation for the support, saying, “Despite the challenges of the last year, the government did not waver in its resolve to eradicate polio. We remain committed to the cause and the multiple vaccination campaigns we have held since the floods are a testament to that commitment.”
