Staff Report
PESHAWAR: President of the Special Persons Welfare Foundation from Orakzai District, Nek Badshah, and Social Media Coordinator Muhammad Aslam, both affected by polio, called on Dr. Syed Muhammad Ilyas, CEO Paraplegic Center Peshawar, at his office. They lauded Dr. Ilyas’s remarkable services for persons with disabilities (PWDs) and assured of full support from their organization. They also expressed a desire to launch joint efforts for the welfare of wheelchair users and for the eradication of polio in Orakzai and other merged districts.
Dr. Ilyas Syed appreciated the Foundation’s sincere efforts for PWDs and expressed hope that the mission to serve suffering humanity would continue at all costs. He voiced serious concern over the increasing spread of the polio virus and the rising number of affected individuals in Orakzai and other merged tribal districts. He attributed the primary cause to a lack of public awareness and the refusal of some parents, under the influence of negative propaganda, to allow polio vaccination for their children.
Dr Ilyas Syed stressed that complete eradication of the polio virus is essential for national prosperity and emphasized that Pakistan can only become polio-free when we fight this crippling disease with the spirit of a national crusade, ultimately wiping it out and consigning it to history.
Dr. Ilyas further remarked that children affected by polio suffer from lifelong disabilities and therefore parents and society at large must fully understand the gravity of the issue. Highlighting the causes behind the spread of polio, he mentioned misinformation about vaccines, unhygienic environments and lack of access to remote areas as the major contributors. As a solution, he underscored the need to raise public awareness, improve clean water and sanitation systems, cooperate with vaccination teams and implement international-level measures to prevent cross-border transmission of the virus.
