Islamabad, Oct 24 (IANS): Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif Friday urged people to ensure that their children are given polio drops to make the country free of polio.

At a function held at his residence here to mark the World Polio Day, Sharif administered polio vaccination drops to children and expressed commitment on behalf of his government towards eradicating the virus, Dawn online reported.

"The Prime Minister's Office has adopted a polio eradication initiative for monitoring and reviewing progress on the issue," he said.

"A Prime Minister's focus group for polio emergency had also been constituted to hold monthly meetings to assess the performance of the eradication programme," he said.

Despite efforts by the government and other stakeholders, the number of polio cases in the country has increased by four times in the year 2014 compared to last year.

According to a report by the World Health Organization, at least 217 cases of polio have been reported in the current year in Pakistan.