Pakistan on Thursday asked the WHO to assist it in the procurement of polio vaccine and allow a 15-day "grace period" before international travel restrictions are enforced on the country's travellers.
Representatives of the federal and provincial Governments held an emergency meeting with the country director of the World Health Organisation to discuss the impact of the travel advisory. WHO Country Director Dr Nima Saeed Abid told the meeting that the restrictions came into effect on the day of the announcement on May 5 but promised in response to a request to urge WHO headquarters in Geneva for a 15-day relaxation, Dawn News reported.
"Dr Nima assured the meeting he would do all that he could to secure the 15-day relaxation," the paper said. According to the WHO, the poliovirus is being exported from Pakistan, Cameroon and Syria.