Islamabad: Pakistan is committed to eradicate polio by the end of 2012, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has told Microsoft chief Bill Gates.
Talking to Bill Gates in Davos, Switzerland, Gilani on Friday said Pakistan would use all resources to rid the country of the crippling disease, it was reported here by the Associated Press of Pakistan.
Gilani is in Davos for the World Economic Forum.
Bill Gates, who contributes about USD 1 billion annually to the eradication of polio globally, stressed the need to expand the reach of the Polio Eradication Programme in Pakistan.
Gilani said he was personally supervising the polio eradication efforts and had also asked the provinces to double their efforts towards making Pakistan a polio-free country.
He said that Pakistan was taking all measures and employing innovative strategies to stop the spread of polio virus.
He added surveillance officers have been appointed in high-risk areas to strengthen the implementation process.
In neighbouring India, it has been a year since the last polio case was reported.
IANS
First Published: Saturday, January 28, 2012, 13:17