Assalamualaikum - Pakistan’s Ayesha Raza named country’s first ‘Gender Champion’ for polio work
Assalamualaikum. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative has appointed Ayesha Raza Farooq, the prime minister’s focal person on polio, as Pakistan’s first ‘Gender Champion’ for pushing gender equality and women’s empowerment in public health.
The GPEI’s Gender Equality Strategy, started in 2019, works to remove gender-related barriers to vaccination, make sure women are represented at all levels, and put gender equity at the heart of health fairness.
Farooq has been leading Pakistan’s polio elimination efforts. The country has reported 30 cases this year, mostly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Pakistan remains one of only two countries where polio is still endemic.
“As-salamu alaykum - for me, fighting polio is not just about protecting children’s health; it’s about fairness, opportunity and empowering families,” Farooq said in a statement released by the national polio program.
“Every day I see women driving this work: heading vaccination teams, overcoming local obstacles and carrying hope for healthier generations,” she added.
The statement noted that her appointment recognizes steps to bring more women into Pakistan’s polio program, expand their leadership and raise their profile among the roughly 400,000 frontline health workers - about 60% of whom are women.
The program said Farooq’s new role shows Pakistan’s commitment to the global fight against polio and to building a fairer, more inclusive future for every child.
Polio is a highly infectious disease that can leave people permanently paralyzed. Pakistan has come a long way since the 1990s, when cases were in the tens of thousands yearly; by 2018 cases dropped to eight. But 2024 saw a worrying rise to 74 cases after much lower numbers in recent years.
Efforts are challenged by parental refusals, misinformation and attacks on vaccination teams by militants. In some remote or unstable areas, teams still travel with police protection, though security personnel have also been targeted.
May Allah grant success to those protecting our children and guide communities toward knowledge and cooperation.
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