Pakistan suspends anti-polio campaign

The Pakistan government has suspended the anti-polio drive and post-campaign evaluation following the increasing number of attacks on polio workers in different parts of the country.

The countrywide campaign to administer anti-polio drops to 39 million children under five years of age was launched on Monday and Friday was the last day following which the evaluation of the drive was to take place. Unidentified gunmen shot dead security personnel escorting a team of polio workers in different incidents in northwest Pakistan.

In another incident, a female polio worker was killed and another injured in Chaman area in Balochistan. The National Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) for polio issued the directive.

Stuck in limbo

For the first time, the Pakistan government has suspended the post-campaign evaluation, called Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS). It is used by the WHO to document status of anti-polio coverage.

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