Pakistan Polio Programme head Dr Shahzad resigns

Pakistan Polio Eradication Programme’s national coordinator Dr Shahzad Baig has resigned for “personal reasons”.

The day after the government chose to replace him with a bureaucrat for the role, the former head of the anti-polio program confirmed the development.

Time magazine’s prestigious yearly list of the 100 most influential people in the world of health includes Dr. Baig.

After receiving harsh criticism for the polio outbreak in the nation—confirmed in at least 153 environmental samples from 39 districts—the former national coordinator resigned.

In Pakistan, the poliovirus has impacted three youngsters thus far.

A bureaucrat will take charge of the National Emergency Operation Centre (NEOC) for polio, according to government officials who made the announcement earlier today. They were concerned about the poliovirus’s reappearance in Pakistan over the past two years.

“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has decided to replace the incumbent National Coordinator of the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), Dr Shahzad Baig, with a government official of BPS 21 or above to lead the operational side of polio eradication initiative following the resurgence of poliovirus in recent years,” an official of the National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination (NHSR&C) told the publication.

Meanwhile, the official maintained that Dr Baig could continue as a technical advisor for the polio program at his discretion, but administrative decisions would now be made by an official appointed by the government.

According to the official, the wild poliovirus is spreading rapidly in Pakistan. In 2023, 126 environmental samples tested positive for poliovirus in 28 districts.

The official stated that even the partner organizations that had previously backed Dr. Baig had agreed that a government official would take his place and that a notification regarding the appointment of a new national coordinator is anticipated soon.

“In actuality, Dr. Shahzad Baig is not employed by the Government of Pakistan, which caused problems with coordination and caused the polio campaign to fail.

He was the target of complaints from provincial coordinators and other high-ranking government officials, some of whom even wrote letters to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif criticizing him,” the official added.