Doha: Qatar participated in the sixth meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks at the WHO’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean which was held virtually yesterday.
Minister of Public Health H E Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari, who is also the subcommittee co-chair, represented Qatar in the meeting.
In her speech during the meeting, she affirmed the importance of urgent action at this stage when the poliovirus variants may threaten to infect children in many countries worldwide, stressing the importance of reaching every child without exception through routine and complementary vaccination to reach a polio-free world by reaching all children, particularly amid ongoing difficult humanitarian circumstances.
The Minister added that vaccine-derived polioviruses have been detected in countries that have not witnessed any case of these viruses for decades, pointing out that a large number of children in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen are still, at the same time, outside the scope of vaccination coverage, for reasons ranging from floods, insecurity and inaccessibility.
She stressed the urgency of huge efforts for the safety of the entire region without neglecting any population category or a single child. She stressed the determination to eradicate polio to become the second disease to be eradicated after smallpox, which necessitates that leaderships in the region would consider polio eradication a priority by mobilizing timely funding for high-quality campaigns, advocating for all children to be vaccinated against polio, and ensuring the safety and security of all polio field workers.
