Pakistan: Polio situation extremely worrying, say health experts

Pakistan is one of the two countries in the world where polio poses a serious threat to children after Africa was declared free from wild poliovirus this month. Global health experts have described the polio situation in Pakistan particularly the outbreak of the virus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province alongside Karachi and Quetta as extremely worrying. Dr. Ali Faisal Saleem, paediatrician at the Aga Khan University Hospital in Karachi, believes that vaccine refusals and misconceptions have largely hindered the vaccine drive in Pakistan’s distant regions. Delays in vaccine acceptance, low vaccination coverage and lack of awareness are some other challenges.