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ISLAMABAD – A Pakistani health official said the country had launched its first national polio vaccination campaign for the year to eradicate the disabling disease by the end of 2019.
Pakistan is one of the three countries in the world where polio is still endemic. The other two are Afghanistan and Nigeria.
But militant threats and deep-rooted superstition have pushed many parents, especially in the border regions of Afghanistan, to refuse to vaccinate their children.
According to Rana Safdar, the campaign that began Monday targets 39.2 million children under five across the country, with the exception of some areas severely affected by winter rains. He says 260,000 staff members are involved. The campaign will try to include children crossing the Afghan-Pakistan border.
In 2018, Pakistan reported only eight new cases of polio.
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