BILL GATES IS IN PAKISTAN TO TALK ABOUT POLIO ERADICATION WITH PM IMRAN KHAN

Thu 17 February 2022:

Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft Corp and philanthropist, visited Pakistan on Thursday, meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan to discuss polio eradication in one of the world’s last two endemic countries.

“This is the final, and hardest, phase of the eradication effort, but by keeping up the momentum and staying vigilant, Pakistan has an opportunity to make history by ending polio for good,” Gates said in a statement. “Pakistan’s commitment to ending polio is inspiring.”

The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), which Gates co-chairs, is a major endeavor involving governments and international organizations.

Pakistan is one of just two nations in the world where polio is still a problem, along with neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate the disease are at an optimistic but delicate stage, according to health and humanitarian officials. According to the Gates Foundation, no children have been paralyzed by wild polio in Pakistan in more than a year, but the virus was discovered in sewerage samples in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in December.

During his first official visit to Pakistan, Gates spoke with the COVID-19 National Command and Operation Centre, which is in charge of the country’s pandemic response.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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