Civil society: March in support of polio workers

LAHORE: A civil society group is organising demonstrations in Lahore and Karachi today (October 24) to show support for the anti-polio campaign and remember members of immunisation teams who have been killed. “Pakistan is one of the last three countries in the world that has yet to eradicate polio. Yet in the last two years 25 polio workers have lost their lives as a result of attacks by extremists,” said the group, Pakistan For All. October 24 is World Polio Eradication Day. In Lahore, supporters will gather at Faletti’s Hotel until 5pm and then march towards the Lahore Press Club. The Karachi event will began at 6pm. The aim of the event is to raise awareness of the need for polio vaccination and of the sacrifices made by polio workers in the face of threats from extremists, said the group, which describes itself as “a collective of concerned citizens”.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2013.