Quetta, June 30: Members of the Balochistan Assembly from major political parties represented in the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan met in Quetta and agreed to initiate a multi-party Caucus of MPAs to raise AWARENESS about the significance of immunization and the fatal consequences of not immunizing children and monitor the immunization efforts.

In a meeting chaired by the Honourable Speaker of the Provincial Assembly of Balochistan in Quetta, the provincial Ministers, advisors to the Chief Minister and Members of the Assembly appointed a Convener and formed an organizing committee for the purpose. Honourable Mr. Muhammad Aslam Bhootani, the Speaker of the Balochistan Assembly accepted the invitation to be the Patron of the Caucus. In his speech on the occasion, he welcomed the formation of the caucus, offered his full support and asked MPAs to make the caucus a result-oriented and dynamic group.

Dr. Ruquia Saeed Hashmi MPA and Minister for inter provincial Coordination has been appointed as the Convener of the Caucus. The members of the Caucus have agreed to convene a larger meeting during next session of the Balochistan Assembly.

With the formation of the Balochistan Assembly Caucus on the Promotion of Immunization, such caucuses in all Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan, the National Parliament and the AJK Legislative Assembly have become functional. A Caucus is also planned for the Legislative Assembly of Gilgit-Baltistan.

MPAs who participated and became members of the emerging Caucus included: Ms. Rahila Hameed Khan Durrani, Minister for Prosecution (Reserved Seat for women, PML), Mr. Ali Madad Jatak, (PB 5 Quetta, PPPP), Dr. Ruqiya Saeed Hashmi, Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination (Reserved Seat for Women, PML), Ms. Ghazala Gola, Minister for Women Development (Reserved Seat for Women, PPPP), Mrs. Nasreen Rehman Kethran, Provincial Minister (PB-17, Barkhan, PML), Ms. Zarina Zehri (Reserved Seat for Women, BNP-A), Ms. Husan Bano Rakhshani (Reserved Seat for Women, MMA), Ms. Shahida Rauf (Reserved Seat for Women, JUI-F), Mr. Jan Ali Changezi, Minister for Quality Education (PB-2 Quetta II, PPPP) and Mr. Muhammad Aslam Bhootani, MPA, Speaker Provincial of Balochistan (PB-45 Lasbella II, PML) .

PILDAT had approached the Balochistan Assembly to consider the proposal of forming such a caucus in view of the persistent discovery of polio cases in Pakistan and lingering misperceptions in a section of the population about the immunization programmes launched by the Government of Pakistan with the help of international donors.

Mr. Ahmed Bilal Mehboob, Executive Director-PILDAT, while giving the background of initiating a Parliamentary Caucus, said that the elected representatives can play a very effective role in the specific context of promoting Expanded Programme on immunization-EPI. The purpose of EPI is to initiate a collective effort to reduce the mortality results from the seven EPI target diseases by immunizing children and women of child bearing age. The elected representatives of the people in the Parliament and the Provincial Legislatures can play a very important role in enhancing the understanding and participation of their communities in the EPI initiatives. A committed leadership of Legislators can add to the steps towards achieving MDGs as they too can strongly advocate on the issue at the highest level, allocate adequate resources for child health, legislate to ensure universal access to essential care and also oversee the implementation of relevant policies.

A parliamentary caucus to promote immunization in Pakistan has already been established in the Parliament of Pakistan under the patronage of the Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan, Honourable Mr. Faisal Karim Kundi, MNA, while Dr. Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto, MNA, Parliamentary Secretary on Health, has been elected as its President. Similarly in the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, the Caucus has been formed under the patronage of Honourable Mr. Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, MPA and Speaker Provincial Assembly of Sindh, while Mr. Anwar Ahmed Khan Mahar, MPA and Mr. Mohammad Moin Aamir Pirzada have taken up the responsibilities as coordinators of the Caucus. A similar caucus has also been established in the Punjab Assembly under the patronage of the Deputy Speaker Honourable Mr. Rana Mashhood Ahmad Khan, MPA and Dr. Asad Ashraf, MPA has been elected as the convener of the Caucus. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial Assembly has also formed similar caucus under the patronage of Honourable Mr. Kiramat Ullah Khan, Speaker Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and has elected Mr. Saleem Khan MPA and Minister for Population Welfare and Ms. Shazia Tehmas, MPA and Chairperson of Committee on Population Welfare as the Convener and Coordinator, respectively, of the Caucus. PILDAT also facilitated the formation of caucus on the Promotion of Immunization in the Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir under the patronage of Honourable Mr. Shah Ghulam Qadir, MLA, Speaker Legislative Assembly of Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Dr. Muhammad Najeeb Naqi, MLA and Minister for Health has been elected as the Convener of the Caucus.