ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan urged Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation co-founder Bill Gates to consider providing humanitarian assistance to poverty-stricken people in Afghanistan. In a telephonic conversation with Gates, the prime minister highlighted that more than half the population in the war-torn country was living below the poverty line and in dire need of financial assistance. The two leaders shared their concerns regarding the health system in Afghanistan — the only other country in the world that is polio-endemic along with Pakistan, according to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Expressing their resolve to eradicate the infectious disease from both countries, they discussed the resumption of polio campaigns in Afghanistan to secure Pakistan’s recent gains in the elimination of the poliovirus. Khan apprised Gates of Pakistan’s “continued progress” against polio eradication and appreciated the invaluable assistance provided by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in that regard.

Source: Pakistan Today October 06, 2021 07:18 UTC