Dr. Yasmin Raashid, health advisor to PTI Chairman said unfortunately
Pakistan is one of only two countries in the world where polio remains
endemic. The seriousness of the PML-N government to eradicate the
crippling disease can be judged from the fact that Punjab government has
wasted 24 per cent of the expensive Inject-able polio vaccine (IPV) she
added. She said polio is nothing short of a national disaster and no saner
element in the government is worried about this calamity and is busy
building motorways and Metro Trains. Mishandling and misuse of the
vaccine by the programme field staff resulted in the loss of the vaccine she
added. She said as the entire provincial budget is being wasted on the
world's most expensive Metro Train, the Punjab government does not have
the budget to buy the vaccine; the incompetent government machinery
could not handle the vaccine donated by the international donors. She said
the international donor is providing some 300,000 doses every month free
of cost. But unfortunately under the nose of Khadam I Alla, who is also
health minister of the province, costly vaccine goes down the drain she
added. She said health is not a priority of the Punjab government.
PTI Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas said PML-N government did not
learn any lesson even after World Health Organisation (WHO) imposed
strict travel restrictions on the country that tarnished Pakistan???s image in
the entire world. The current ruling elite is only interested in looting public
money and then leave the country as they do not care about the future of
the innocent children she added. She said dose of IPV costs Rs500 in the
international market, and the donor was saving Rs150 million for the
national exchequer per month. But provincial health sector is chronically
mismanaged due to corruption and nepotism thus resulting in the loss of
vaccine she added. She said in March this year due to the sheer negligence
of health ministry USD 3.7 million worth of vaccines donated by UNICEF to
protect children from deadly diseases was wasted. In every sector PMLN???s
poor governance has been exposed she added. She said immunization of
children remains a big challenge for Pakistan, with polio a particular
concern and PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is dealing with the
crippling disease in a successful way. Why cannot Khadam I Alla who always
rants about his good governance learn from KPK successful Sehat Ka Insaf
immunization drive she questioned? She said the waste of costly polio
vaccine means millions of children would be deprived of immunization
against polio.