{"id":38750,"date":"2024-12-11T23:31:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T23:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/?p=38750"},"modified":"2024-12-11T23:31:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T23:31:00","slug":"japan-announces-3-1-million-grant-to-support-pakistans-polio-programme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/japan-announces-3-1-million-grant-to-support-pakistans-polio-programme\/","title":{"rendered":"Japan announces $3.1 million grant to support Pakistan&#8217;s Polio Programme"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><\/h5>\n<h5><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-38751\" src=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Japan_Pakistan_Polio.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"371\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Japan_Pakistan_Polio.jpg 500w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Japan_Pakistan_Polio-300x223.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Japan_Pakistan_Polio-80x60.jpg 80w, https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Japan_Pakistan_Polio-265x198.jpg 265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/>ISLAMABAD, 11 December 2024 \u2013\u00a0The Government of Japan has announced a new US$ 3.1 million grant to procure essential oral polio vaccines as part of its continued support to polio eradication efforts in Pakistan.\u00a0Pakistan Polio Programme will use these funds to procure more than 20.22 million doses of vaccines to support polio\u00a0campaigns in 2025.<\/h5>\n<h5>Pakistan is one of only two countries globally that has yet to stop polio. In 2024, Pakistan reported a total of 59 cases of polio. With the current surge in polio cases in the country, the Government of Pakistan, in collaboration with its partners, is set to implement an extensive, aggressive, and strategic action plan in 2025 aimed at eradicating this life-threatening disease among children.<\/h5>\n<h5>Each national immunization drive targets over 45.4 million children under the age of five, with more than 400,000 frontline workers, predominantly women, playing a crucial role in ensuring the Polio Programme&#8217;s outreach.<\/h5>\n<h5>&#8220;Despite the challenges, Pakistan remains steadfast in its commitment to eradicating polio by mid-2025,&#8221; said Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on National Health Services. \u201cAs we prepare to launch polio campaigns in 2025, together with our partners we will maintain an emergency focus towards resolving the remaining challenges that stand in our way to reach all children. \u201c<\/h5>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"buK2zG9Kpc\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/japan-and-jica-provide-additional-4-43-million-usd-for-the-extension-of-maternal-and-child-health-care-facilities-in-sindh\/\">Japan and JICA provide additional 4.43 million USD for the Extension of Maternal and Child Health Care Facilities in Sindh<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Japan and JICA provide additional 4.43 million USD for the Extension of Maternal and Child Health Care Facilities in Sindh&#8221; &#8212; Pakistan In the World\" src=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/japan-and-jica-provide-additional-4-43-million-usd-for-the-extension-of-maternal-and-child-health-care-facilities-in-sindh\/embed\/#?secret=wtTUfCCBY0#?secret=buK2zG9Kpc\" data-secret=\"buK2zG9Kpc\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h5>&#8220;The unwavering support of the Government of Japan has been instrumental in helping us get closer to reaching zero cases. We are thankful to the Government and people of Japan for their continued support towards polio eradication in Pakistan,&#8221; <strong>Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Bharath<\/strong> added.<\/h5>\n<h5>&#8220;The challenges faced in 2024 have underscored the critical need to accelerate our efforts to eradicate polio. With Japan&#8217;s continued support, we are further strengthened to intensify our efforts, aiming to achieve zero polio cases by mid-2025 under the leadership of the Honourable Prime Minister, Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif,&#8221; stated <strong>Ms. Ayesha Raza Farooq.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5><strong>Mr. TAKANO Shuichi, Charge d\u2019 Affaires ad interim of Japan<\/strong> to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, said \u201cJapan has supported Pakistan to eradicate polio for nearly 30 years despite hindrance such as floods, COVID, and terrorist attacks. Since this year marks the 70th anniversary of Japan\u2019s ODA to Pakistan, we would like to renew our commitment to continue to promote routine immunization including polio vaccination in Pakistan.\u201d<\/h5>\n<h5>The new funding is part of the continuous support from the Government of Japan to the Polio Eradication programme since 1996. To date, the grant and loan contribution from the Government of Japan has amounted to approx. US$ 242.194 million dollars to support the Polio programme in Pakistan through UNICEF.<\/h5>\n<h5>\u201cWe appreciate the government\u2019s commitment to making all-out efforts to ensure all children receive the essential vaccine. We believe that vaccines, the most effective way to strengthen children\u2019s immunity, will be used effectively with the understanding of parents and communities and the efforts of frontline workers. We sincerely hope that all the polio campaigns of this year will be conducted successfully toward zero polio cases\u201d, said <strong>Mr. MIYATA Naoaki, Chief Representative, JICA Pakistan Office.<\/strong><\/h5>\n<h5>The sharp rise in polio cases this year are a reminder of the urgent need to protect every child with vaccines through campaigns and routine immunization. While there is polio anywhere, every child will remain at risk until the virus is eradicated,\u201d said<strong> Mr. Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan.<\/strong> \u201cWith steadfast support from partners like Japan, UNICEF remains fully committed to making Pakistan polio-free, ensuring no child is left behind.<\/h5>\n<h5><em>Polio is a highly infectious disease caused by a virus mainly affects children under the age of five. It invades the nervous system and can cause paralysis or even death. While there is no cure for polio, vaccination is the only effective way to protect our children from the crippling disease. Every time children under the age of five get the polio vaccine, they are more protected. Such repeated immunizations have protected millions of children from polio and made most of the countries around the world polio free.<\/em><\/h5>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"lgeguhSbTl\"><p><a href=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-in-the-world-december-2024\/\">Pakistan in the World \u2013 December 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; clip: rect(1px, 1px, 1px, 1px);\" title=\"&#8220;Pakistan in the World \u2013 December 2024&#8221; &#8212; Pakistan In the World\" src=\"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/pakistan-in-the-world-december-2024\/embed\/#?secret=RXBbzS34sB#?secret=lgeguhSbTl\" data-secret=\"lgeguhSbTl\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ISLAMABAD, 11 December 2024 \u2013\u00a0The Government of Japan has announced a new US$ 3.1 million grant to procure essential oral polio vaccines as part of its continued support to polio eradication efforts in Pakistan.\u00a0Pakistan Polio Programme will use these funds to procure more than 20.22 million doses of vaccines to support polio\u00a0campaigns in 2025. Pakistan [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38751,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[1066,155,4567,48,4568,659],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38750"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38750"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38755,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38750\/revisions\/38755"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pakistanintheworld.pk\/live\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}