Friday, July 11, 2025
spot_img

Muslim clerics attend conference on polio eradication in Pak

Date:

Share post:

spot_imgspot_img

Islamabad: Influential Muslim clerics and scholars from across Pakistan and abroad attended a conference here aimed at bringing together the religious leaders and apprise them about the challenges of polio eradication, including mis-information spread in the name of religion.
The purpose of the two-day International Ulema Conference on Polio Eradication was to bring together the religious leaders and apprise them about the challenges of polio eradication in Pakistan, particularly with respect of mis- information in the name of religion that the vaccine is harmful.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the Pakistan government and members of the International Islamic Advisory Group (IAG) on Polio Eradication organised the international conference that ended on Monday. Among the speakers and participants to the conference were Islamic scholars from Pakistan, Somalia and Nigeria – three countries where polio remains endemic. “The International Ulama Conference on Polio Eradication is an effort from the Muslim Ummah to expedite and successfully achieve the Global Goal of Eradicating Polio by the end of 2015,” said IDB President Ahmad Mohamed Ali.
“I am happy that reputable Muslim organizations like the OIC, Al-Azhar University, the IFA in partnership with IDB have come together to address this issue,” he added. He said the meet was an excellent platform for Islamic scholars, healthcare professionals and policy makers to find a common ground on how to eradicate polio from the remaining Polio endemic countries.
The participants discussed how to eliminate the concerns of clerics and ensure them that polio vaccine is not harmful.
For many years, the Taliban and some clerics had been claiming that polio vaccination was a conspiracy to suppress Muslim population growth. (PTI)
Some extremist elements have even justified killing polio workers while accusing them of being “agents of the West”. The conference also discussed guidance on strategies that can effectively overcome current situation and political challenges to polio eradication in Pakistan. According to the World Health Organisation, 80,000 children in Pakistan have not been immunised against polio. The Jeddah-based IDB is an international financial institution established in pursuance of the Declaration of Intent issued by the Conference of Finance Ministers of Muslim countries. PTI CORR ZH AKJ ZH 06171453

spot_imgspot_img

Related articles

Djokovic one step closer to title

London, July 10: Novak Djokovic’s search for his personal Holy Grail – a 25th Grand Slam title and...

After routing Real Madrid, PSG eye Chelsea and historic quadruple

East Rutherford, July 10: Wearing their blue, red and white jerseys, Paris Saint-Germain supporters were surrounded by white...

Belinda Bencic storms into semis

London, July 9: Returning to the circuit after the birth of her child, Belinda Bencic continued with her...

Asia Cup in doubt after India, Lanka refuse to attend ACC meeting

Mumbai, July 10: The Asia Cup cricket tournament plunged into further doubt and chaos after India and Sri...