Pakistan Polio Drive Is Suspended

This article describes recent obstacles facing the polio vaccination programme in remote

regions of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in Pakistan. Officials report that villagers in a number of

communities have threatened health workers, broken their equipment and even abducted and beaten eleven

individuals sent to administer vaccinations.



In the villages of Sarkari Killa and Kotgi Charmang, vaccination campaigns have been suspended

indefinitely as a result of death threats issued against health workers if they return. These campaigns

were part of a national drive to immunise 32 million children in Pakistan under the age of five this year.

This is the second time this year that the campaign was suspended in this region, known as Bajaur; the

first was due to the death of a doctor and health worker in a roadside blast.



According to the article, Islamic clerics stand in opposition to the programme and believe it to be a

Western conspiracy to sterilise children and reduce Muslim populations. These rumours are spread by radio

stations and mosques, and health officials have been trying hard to dispel the negative impact of these

messages on the public.