GPEI Strategy Committee visits Pakistan, meets health officials – Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: Global Director for Polio Eradication at WHO, Aidan O’Leary, met Health Minister Dr. Nadeem Jan on Friday, concluding the visit of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative’s (GPEI) Strategy Committee. This was the first engagement between senior GPEI officials and the caretaker government. In a meeting held at the Health Ministry, Dr Jan said: “It is important for us that our country and global partners and donors stand together in this final leg of the eradication journey.” The Strategy Committee of the GPEI, chaired by O’Leary, is an executive committee set up to oversee the management and execution of the Polio Endgame Plan, that aims to achieve eradication by 2026. “There is no time to waste. The Health Ministry will support any measure to interrupt wild poliovirus transmission by the global deadline at the end of 2023,” the minister added. “I am a polio worker at heart. I will ensure that not only does polio remain a priority at all tiers of governance, but efforts are more targeted and intensified,” he stated. Speaking after the meeting, O’Leary said: “Political will and commitment to get the job done is absolutely critical to the success of the programme.” “We have been particularly
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