ISLAMABAD – Pakistan introduced its 2nd national anti-polio campaign of the yr Monday so as to inoculate 44 million children beneath the age of five amid indicators the rustic used to be as regards to removing the illness.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-Haq-Kakar introduced the five-day vaccination marketing campaign within the capital, Islamabad, and advised oldsters in a televised deal with to cooperate with the 350,000 well being employees who’re going door-to-door to manage vaccine drops to children.
The marketing campaign used to be going down beneath heavy security. The govt deployed police and security forces to verify the security of the inoculation drive employees.
Vaccine suppliers and the police assigned to give protection to them have been attacked right through previous anti-polio campaigns, which militants falsely claimed have been a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Pakistan has registered two new polio instances since January, a blow to the objective of removing a illness that is affecting the apprehensive device and will motive critical paralysis in children.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the one two international locations on the earth the place polio continues to threaten the well being and well-being of children.
Pakistan got here as regards to removing polio in 2021, when just one case used to be reported, and remaining yr reported about two dozen instances.
The instances to this point this yr have been reported from northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, the place the Taliban rulers remaining week introduced a four-day polio vaccine drive centered at children beneath 5. The well being ministry stated 11 million children have been inoculated.
In 2022, handiest two polio instances have been reported from Afghanistan, elevating hopes for the eradication of illness. Five instances had been reported to this point this yr.
Before taking keep watch over of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban had barred U.N.-organized vaccination groups from doing door-to-door campaigns in portions of the rustic beneath their keep watch over. The crew it appears used to be suspicious the crew individuals might be spies for the former govt or the West.