Minister of Public Health H E Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari taking part in the 5th meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks held via video conference.
Doha: The State of Qatar participated in the 5th meeting of the Regional Subcommittee for Polio Eradication and Outbreaks held via video conference.
The delegation of the State of Qatar to the meeting was headed by Minister of Public Health and co-chair of the committee H E Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari.
The meeting reviewed a number of important topics, most notably, the developments regarding the eradication of polio in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, the recognition of the Member States’ commitment to the eradication of polio, and the proposed measures for the eradication of polio in the region.
In her speech at the meeting, Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al Kuwari affirmed the State of Qatar’s support for the humanitarian work efforts undertaken by the World Health Organization (WHO), especially in the field of emergency response.
The Minister indicated that last March, the State of Qatar hosted a high-level meeting to discuss the interim health priorities of Afghanistan during the next 18-24 months, as Afghanistan is one of the last two countries in which the disease is endemic. The meeting was an invitation to partners and donors to work together to find ways to stop the spread of multiple diseases, including polio. As Qatar is a member and co-chair of the subcommittee, there is an obligation to work together to ensure that children in the region are protected from paralysis that is caused by the polio virus.
She said progress in polio in the Eastern Mediterranean region is still fragile, and that so far, nine children have been paralyzed by the wild poliovirus in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The lives of these children could have changed completely if they received a life-saving vaccination during immunization campaigns, HE said, noting that there are children in other countries in the region who fall victim to polio due to low levels of routine immunization. She stressed the need to enhance immunity levels in children, especially those who still lack routine immunization and polio vaccination campaigns, calling for the creation of an enabling environment that allows health workers to reach children with these two drops of the polio vaccine as well as the injectable vaccine.
The Minister underlined the importance of finding concrete mechanisms in the Eastern Mediterranean region to prevent attacks on health workers and to support the families of victims and survivors of these devastating attacks, noting that in February, eight polio vaccinators, four of them women, were attacked in Afghanistan while performing their work by giving Children polio vaccine.
Al Kuwari commended the cooperation of many countries in coordinating cross-border efforts, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Djibouti, and Somalia, expressing her thanks to the relevant ministries for their efforts in mobilising domestic funding necessary to implement vaccination campaigns.
