Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-02-02.
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assistance her Department is giving to the government of Pakistan to help ensure that polio vaccination programmes in that country can take place without disruption by violence.
Mr Nick Hurd
The United Kingdom is fully committed to global polio eradication and is providing £300 million to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative for 2013 to 2019. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative works closely with the Government of Pakistan, including with law enforcement and the military, to ensure that vaccination campaigns take place in the safest possible conditions.
Security planning is integrated into vaccination campaigns by including members of law enforcement and military in Polio Emergency Operations Centres and ensuring there are sufficient numbers of security personnel accompanying vaccinators in security compromised areas. Security officials create safe zones for vaccinators to operate in and also provide relevant threat information that is taken into consideration before launching any vaccination activity. Community initiatives are extensively supported to build local community trust and acceptance of polio vaccination campaigns.
