Pakistan begins anti-polio drive targeting 7mn children

Pakistan remains one of the three last countries in the world, alongside Afghanistan and Nigeria, where polio continues to circulate. (AFP/file)

• Is one among the world’s last three countries where disease is still prevalent
• Nearly 50,000 workers are expected to take part in the campaign

ISLAMABAD: With an aim to immunize more than seven million children against polio, authorities in Pakistan’s Sindh province relaunched a vaccination drive on Sunday which is expected to continue until November 19.
As part of the initiative, all children under five years of age will be vaccinated, with 2.3 million out of the total seven million belonging to Karachi alone. The drive will target all districts of Karachi and 18 others from Sindh’s interior. Nearly 50,000 workers are expected to take part in the campaign.
According to state-run Radio Pakistan, a three-day anti-polio campaign will also target selected districts of the country, starting from Monday, with vaccinations to be carried out across 12 districts of the Punjab province.
According to the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) for polio eradication in Islamabad, two new cases of the diseases were reported in the Bajour tribal district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province last month, bringing the total number of polio cases in the country to eight this year. 
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting with the National Task Force on Polio Eradication (NTFPE), assuring the group that his government would extend all possible support to eradicate the virus from the country.
PM Khan’s representative for polio eradication, Babar Bin Atta briefed the NTFPE that Pakistan’s efforts to rid the country of the crippling menace have been acknowledged by the international community, especially since the total number of polio cases have witnessed an exponential decline since 1994.
“The participants were informed that the main factors contributing toward [a rise in the incidents of] polio in Pakistan were cross-border movement from Afghanistan, poverty, poor sanitation, low coverage of routine birth immunization, security threats, and misconceptions about the vaccine. This resulted in a refusal to get immunized,” a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office said.
The United Nations and the World Health Organization reported that while other nations have been successful in eradicating the disease, it continues to be endemic in only three countries — namely Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Nigeria.