Three people have died in a polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan. Gunmen killed a vaccine worker and two police officers in North Waziristan, near the border with Afghanistan, officials said Tuesday. Militant and Islamist groups have long been active in the border area. Supporters of the vaccination campaigns are repeatedly attacked. The opponents of vaccination also spread conspiracy theories about alleged side effects.
Along with Afghanistan, Pakistan is the only country in the world to have had cases of polio this year, caused by the wild-type polio virus. The disease, which affects the central nervous system and in individual cases can lead to permanent paralysis, has been eradicated in most countries around the world thanks to vaccination.
Taliban fought against vaccinations
In 1994, a polio eradication program was launched in Pakistan. But that got in the way: In 2012, the radical Islamist Taliban, which rules parts of the country, banned polio vaccination. At the time, they suspected hostile spies behind vaccinating health workers. In 2017, the Taliban halted vaccination campaigns in parts of southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar province.
Meanwhile, however, there is a change of heart among the Islamists. In November last year, a UN vaccination campaign against polio began in Afghanistan, supported by the new rulers.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
