ISLAMABAD: As many as 132 new cases of polio have been reported from Pakistan recently, said Dan Rohrmann, Pakistan representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), on Tuesday. “A polio vaccination campaign has been kicked off from Tuesday and will target 33 million children across the country. This season polio can be controlled easily and we should avail this opportunity,” Rohrmann told BBC. The World Health Organisation and Unicef are working closely with provincial governments to deploy up to 800 additional staff in 33 high-risk districts. “We must remember that behind every number there is the face of a child and a devastated family,” said Rohrmann. WHO Pakistan Representative Dr Guido Sabatinelli reiterated that eradicating polio from Pakistan depends on delivering oral polio vaccine to each and every child, including the most vulnerable and the hardest-to-reach.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2011.