Pak PM, Bill Gates to continue joint efforts in tackling Covid-19 and polio

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates have agreed to continue working together to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and eradicate polio from the country, according to a media report on Thursday.

Khan, during a telephone conversation with Gates on Wednesday, told him about Pakistan's commitment to combat the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic through coordinated efforts and smart lockdowns, Geo news reported.

Pakistan has so far reported 429,280 coronavirus cases with 8,603 deaths.

Khan shared Pakistan's policy to control and mitigate the deleterious impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on health and the economy.

The prime minister thanked the Gates Foundation for its critical support in building Pakistan's emergency management capacity for polio eradication, highlighting that anti-polio campaigns are being intensified across the country, the report said.

Khan and Gates agreed to continue working together on the shared objectives of eradicating polio and combating the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

Pakistan is one of the three countries in the world, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio is still endemic.

Growing security challenges in recent years have made it increasingly difficult to run anti-polio campaigns in different parts of Pakistan.

Attempts to eradicate the disease have been seriously hampered by the targeting of vaccination teams in recent years by militants, who oppose the drives, claiming the polio drops cause infertility.