Vaccinators refuse to join polio campaign in Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan – Health workers in part of a troubled Pakistani tribal region Friday, January 10, refused to participate in a polio vaccination campaign because of security threats, officials said.

The 3-day campaign in the Khyber tribal district is due to start on Saturday, January 11, almost 3 weeks after gunmen shot dead a worker while he was administering polio drops and vaccines to children in the town of Jamrud.

Efforts to stamp out the crippling disease in Pakistan have been seriously hampered by militant attacks on health workers inoculating children.

The Pakistani Taliban banned polio vaccinations in the tribal region of Waziristan in 2012, alleging the campaign was a cover for espionage.

“The employees at the civil hospital in Jamrud swore on oath that they will not join the campaign owing to serious security threats,” a senior health official in the region told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on condition of anonymity.

He said these employees recently held talks with the local administration and demanded better security and higher wages for health workers.

He said the campaign would be launched according to schedule in Bara and Landi Kotal towns of Khyber from Saturday.

“If the health workers do not participate in the campaign in Jamrud, we will hire the local tribal police for the purpose,” the official added.

One health worker in Jamrud told AFP he and his colleagues had received threats from militants on Thursday night, January 9, warning them of serious consequences if they joined the campaign.

“Our lives are dear to us and we have decided not to join the campaign,” he said, asking not to be named.

Pakistan is one of 3 countries in the world where polio remains endemic, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria.

Eradication efforts have also suffered due to long-standing rumors that the vaccine was part of a Western plot to sterilize Muslims.

According to the World Health Organization, Pakistan recorded 85 cases of polio in 2013 compared with 58 in 2012. – Rappler.com