LAHORE:
Polio could not be eradicated from Pakistan this year too due to the ongoing war against terrorism, doctors addressing a press conference on polio vaccination on Monday said.
They said that a large number of families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan were forced to migrate to other provinces. Resultantly, thousands of children missed their vaccination.
The conference was addressed by Dr Ameer Muhammad Khan Jogezai, the Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) central leader and others.
Dr Tariq Iqbal Bhutta said that 198 cases were confirmed in the country in 2011, of which 72 cases were from districts in Balochistan.
He said the data revealed that polio was present in the three districts of the province only. In Punjab, he said, four cases were reported in 2011. In 2012, he said, 12 cases had been reported during the first two months. Of these, one was in Punjab.
Dr Jogezai said that some religious extremists too were a hurdle in administering polio vaccination effectively. Dr Jogezai regretted that some sections of the society were spreading lies regarding the polio vaccine. He said that the vaccine was not harmful.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 6th, 2012.
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Good news.