ABU DHABI, The World Health Organisation’s EMRO Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks commended the unwavering support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in working to eradicate polio and the funding he provides for this work.

The committee also praised the painstaking efforts made by the UAE to combat polio at regional and global levels as part of the Emirates Polio Campaign and the UAE’s humanitarian support for Afghanistan’s and Pakistan’s efforts to eradicate polio.

This came during the second meeting of the Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks, which was held virtually and was co-chaired by the UAE and Egypt, in the presence of Abdul Rahman bin Mohammad bin Nasser Al Owais, Minister of Health and Prevention, Dr. Hala Zayed, Minister of Health and Population of Egypt, Dr. Hussein Abdul Rahman Al Rand, Assistant Undersecretary for the Public Health Sector, and Dr. Ahmed Al Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Through this participation, the UAE aims to coordinate joint efforts to combat polio, support preventive health programmes, and strengthen the immunization system against this disease.

Al Owais noted the unwavering support of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed to eradicate polio at the global level since 2011. The minister added His Highness’s support for the resumption of campaigns and the delivery of vaccines has not stopped, despite the COVID-19 outbreak, which clearly reflects his highness’s commitment to extending a helping hand to millions of people to enjoy a healthy and decent life.

Al Owais stressed the importance of the meetings of the regional subcommittee on polio eradication, lauding the discussions of countries’ reports, in order to come up with recommendations that contribute to addressing this disease and improving the efforts being made to ensure the region isfree of polio.

“The UAE’s efforts to combat polio have gone beyond local and regional levels. Since 1994, the UAE has been providing unstinting support and aid worldwide to eliminate the disease, in coordination and cooperation with the WHO, UNICEF, and the Emirates Red Crescent,” he added.

The Health Minister added that the UAE, under the support and guidance of the wise leadership, has given the national polio eradication programme the utmost priority, as being one of the most important national health milestones. He underlined that the ministry of health works hard to maintain what has been achieved by establishing a strong and effective system to monitor and investigate cases of polio coming from outside the country in a timely manner.

The Regional Subcommittee on Polio Eradication and Outbreaks includes in its membership the ministers of health of Saudi Arabia, Oman, Sudan, Somalia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

Source: Emirates News Agency