ISLAMABAD — Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday received a high-level delegation from the Partnership for Lead Free Future and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), reaffirming the government’s unwavering commitment to protecting Pakistani children from polio and the growing threat of lead poisoning.
The delegation comprised Abdullah Fazil, Director of the Partnership for Lead Free Future Secretariat; Pernille Ironside, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan; and Jenna Forsyth and Thomas Hird from Stanford University School of Medicine. Federal Ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Mustafa Kamal, and Ayesha Raza Farooq, along with senior government officials, were also in attendance.
Welcoming the delegation, the Prime Minister underscored that the government was taking priority measures to secure the future of the nation’s children.
“Pakistan regards the elimination of polio as its foremost national priority. We are fully committed to achieving the complete eradication of this crippling disease from the country at the earliest,” the Prime Minister stated.
Addressing the hazards of lead exposure, PM Shehbaz acknowledged that lead contamination posed serious risks to the physical and mental development of children. “Countering the effects of lead is a formidable challenge, but we are determined to take every possible step to address it,” he said, adding that the government remained committed to working alongside its international partners to combat lead exposure through coordinated action.
The delegation briefed the Prime Minister on the harmful health effects of lead and identified areas across Pakistan where its spread had been documented. Members stressed the critical importance of raising public awareness about the dangers of lead contamination.
Commending Pakistan’s efforts, delegation members told the Prime Minister that his leadership in safeguarding children against polio and other serious diseases was praiseworthy. “We are heartened to witness the measures being taken in Pakistan to protect children from illness and to mitigate threats to their development,” they said.
The delegation also lauded the government’s broader human development agenda, noting that under the Prime Minister’s leadership, meaningful strides were being made in health, education, youth development, and the information technology sector.
— Report Ali Imran Chattha |Islamabad Bureau ! Pakistan
