Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry for War against Polio

Lahore, October 25, 2014 (PPI-OT): All segments of the society would have to play their role to weed out crippling polio disease once for all. This was the upshot of the speeches delivered at a seminar organized by Rotary Club of Lahore Garrison in collaboration with the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Saturday.

The LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Nauman Kabir was the chief guest while Rotarians, representatives of Global Partners like WHO, UNICEF, Gates Foundation, Health Department and other civil society organizations attended the seminar. LCCI EC members Shahzad Ahmed, Khawaja Khawar Rasheed, Raja Riaz Ahmed and former EC member Mian Zahid Javed also spoke on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion the LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Nauman Kabir said that we must act quickly by starting “War against Polio” and give ourselves a chance to succeed. He appreciated the role of Rotary Club in creating awareness about polio and in providing polio drops to the children.

He stressed on the responsibility of the government to ensure all children less than five years of age receive polio drops during each National Immunization Day campaigns. He also urged the government to ensure fool proof protection of the polio teams as in recent past a number of sad incidents have badly tarnished the soft image of the country.

He said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry would continue to play its role for creating awareness about this disease. He said that LCCI FM Radio (FM 98.6) would broadcast awareness program against this disease in collaboration with Rotary Club.

He said that the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry was quite conscious of its corporate social responsibility as an institution with the name of LABARD was working for the rehabilitation of the disabled for about two decades.

Mian Nauman Kabir said that women could play vital in this regard. So, there is a dire need to create awareness among the women so that they are aware of the importance of the polio immunization and could get their children vaccinated against polio disease. If it was done then we would be able to make our country and the province polio-free, they said.

He said that overall, the annual number of new polio cases has plummeted by more than 99 percent since the 1980s, when polio infected about 350,000 children a year. More than two billion children have been immunized in 122 countries, preventing five million cases of paralysis and 250,000 deaths.

Other speakers also resolved to continue working towards polio eradication till we achieve the good of polio free Pakistan and the world. They spoke at length about the importance of awareness for eradication of the crippling disease. They said that the children suffer from the crippling disease of polio every year therefore, all segments of the society would have to play their part in its eradication.

For more information, contact:
Shahid Khalil
Information Department
Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI)
11-Shahrah-e-Aiwan-e-Tijarat,
Lahore -54000, Pakistan
Tel: +92-42-111-222-499
Fax: +92-42-6368854