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Egypt makes polio certificate mandatory for Pakistan

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1 year ago

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  • Egyptian authorities say OPV or IPV both certificates are acceptable.
  • WHO highlighted gaps in Pakistan, Afghanistan’s efforts to eliminate polio.
  • Environmental samples underscore risk of polio outbreak in Pakistan.

KARACHI: The Egyptian authorities have made it mandatory for travelers from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other countries to provide a polio vaccination certificate.

“As informed by the Egyptian Authorities, passengers travelling to Egypt from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Malawi, Mozambique and Congo are requested to provide an international certificate of vaccination specifically polio vaccine, OPV or IPV (both are acceptable),” Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said in an advisory on its website on Monday.

It added that foreigners who have stayed more than four weeks in the above-mentioned countries are also required to provide polio vaccination in order to travel to Egypt.

Last month, the International Health Regulations’ (2005) Emergency Committee, responsible for assessing global poliovirus spread, expressed concerns over Pakistan’s efforts to reach a large number of children through its polio eradication campaign.

In a session convened by the World Health Organisation (WHO) director general on August 16, 2023, the committee highlighted the gaps in Pakistan and Afghanistan’s efforts to eliminate polio.

It emphasised that recent favorable environmental samples from Peshawar and Karachi underscore the persistent risk of a polio outbreak in Pakistan.

The committee highlighted that a new case of WPV1 emerged in Pakistan since the last meeting, bringing the 2023 total to two cases. Both instances occurred in the Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. Throughout the year, at least 15 environmental surveillance-positive samples were identified.

“Although the action plan in southern KP has resulted in 160,000 more children being vaccinated, the context remains challenging — including political instability, insecurity in some areas with front-line workers requiring police patrols to accompany them and vaccination boycotts, where communities make demands for other services in exchange for allowing polio vaccination,” the committee further said.

Commenting on the emergency committee’s statement, Pakistan’s caretaker health minister Dr Nadeem Jan told The News that boosting routine immunisation and coverage of zero dose via outreach campaigns would help in polio eradication efforts in the country.

In Afghanistan, since the last meeting, there have been five new WPV1 cases reported, all from Nangarhar province, the emergency committee said adding that the cases occurred in five different districts and had onsets from April to May 2023.

“Any setback in Afghanistan poses a risk to the programme in Pakistan due to high population movement,” the emergency committee warned.

The committee further observed that in 2023, there were only two genetic clusters of WPV1 identified, compared to three in 2022 and five in 2021.

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FO admits that a boat capsized in Greece, killing four Pakistanis.

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The deaths of four Pakistanis in a boat capsizing event close to the southern Greek island of Goudos have been verified by the Foreign Office.

The incident happened on Sunday and at least five illegal immigrants drowned as a result. According to Greek Coast Guards, 39 people were rescued after the wooden boat overturned, but 40 more are still unaccounted for.

According to a Foreign Office spokeswoman, the four Pakistani nationals were among those killed in the catastrophe. In order to help the remaining Pakistanis and repatriate the corpses of the deceased, the Pakistani Embassy in Athens has been in close communication with Greek authorities, she said.

Additional information was given by Aamir Aftab Qureshi, Pakistan’s ambassador to Greece, during a press conference. According to him, there were 80 Pakistanis on board the doomed boat, and efforts are still being made to find the people who are still missing.

He added that the overcrowding on the boat was a factor in the capsizing. There are worries over the safety of the missing people because a sizable portion of them are children. He stated that five boats carrying Pakistani nationals were traveling illegally from Libya.

The public was also informed by Ambassador Qureshi that the government will pay for the return flight of the accident victims’ bodies.

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Every office will have a biometric system installed by Lesco.

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2 weeks ago

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system in each office.

Details show that the LESCO had ordered the installation of biometric systems in all offices, including the divisions and the circle.

The installation of the biometric system at the headquarters resulted in an increase in attendance, as the LESCO CEO had stated.

The CEO of LESCO claimed that the biometric system has resolved the issues related to the fictitious overtime and off-days.

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Around 450 Pakistanis have successfully crossed into Lebanon from Syria, according to a briefing from the Foreign Office.

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2 weeks ago

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Approximately 450 Pakistanis, including 250 Zaireen, have successfully crossed into Lebanon from Syria, according to the spokesperson for the Foreign Office, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.

During her weekly briefing at the foreign office in Islamabad, she stated that Pakistan is pleased with the resolution passed by the United Nations General Assembly on the Gaza Strip, which calls for an immediate ceasefire.

In addition, she expressed her satisfaction with the elimination of limits placed on UNRWA’s ability to carry out relief activities in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

It was stated by her that Pakistan is demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities in Palestine, an end to the genocide that is taking place in Gaza, the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid for those who are in urgent need, full support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and its mandated humanitarian activities, and medical assistance for those who are in urgent need.

Moreover, she stated that Pakistan emphasises the need for the international community to hold Israel accountable for the war crimes and crimes against humanity that it has committed in occupied lands.

The Israeli aggression against Syria, the illegitimate acquisition of Syrian territory, and the massive devastation of Syrian infrastructure as well as civilian and military sites are all topics that Pakistan is extremely worried about, according to the spokesperson for Pakistan.

According to her, this attack on Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is a serious violation of international law to the highest degree. By expressing our support for Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, we are also expressing our opposition to the Israeli government’s attempt to acquire territory through coercion.

The resolution 497 of the United Nations Security Council, which declares the annexation of the Golan Heights by Israel to be null and illegal and to have no international legal impact, was reaffirmed by her organisation.

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