By IANS,
Islamabad : Pakistan is among the world’s last four countries with polio, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has said while stressing that efforts need to be made for the complete eradication of the disease.
Gilani said all eyes were on Pakistan to ensure eradication of polio.
The prime minister said that in 1988, the global community resolved to eradicate polio as it was alarmed by the occurrence of over 350,000 cases annually.
He said Pakistan joined the global fraternity in this drive in 1994.
“We have come a long way since then with polio cases down from over 20,000 annually to 144 last year and 132 so far this year. However, this is not enough and we need to forge ahead and reach our goal of complete eradication of the disease from our country in line with global targets,” Associated Press of Pakistan quoted Gilani as saying.