The President of Pakistan, Mr Asif Ali Zardari, has announced civil awards and conferred President’s Award for Pride of Performance on Aziz Memon, Chairman Pakistan National Polio Plus Committee and Sitar-e Khidmat on Dr Robert S. Scott, Chairman Rotary International Polio Plus Committee and Chairman, the Rotary International.
The announcement was made by President Asif Zardari the other day when he formally launched the National Emergency Action Plan 2011 for Polio Eradication at the President House in Islamabad by administering polio drops to orphaned children from all the provinces vowing to eradicating polio from the country.
The President complimented the Ministry of Health, the provincial health departments, the Rotary International, the diplomatic community and international partner agencies in making the launch of this program possible and thanked them for their support in the fight against polio.
The President noted that Pakistan has come a long way from 1994, when the polio eradication campaign was first launched formally and the number of cases was more than 30,000.
“Our aim is to make Pakistan completely polio free. We aim that no child lives in the fear of being crippled for life,” he observed.
The President said Polio was a crippling disease and continues to threaten opportunities for children. He said unfortunately Pakistan was among few countries which were still not completely polio free.