Polio diagnosed in an unvaccinated four-year-old child and in two other children who were contacts of the child, authorities say, as government eyes a new immunisation drive within weeks.
But the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) – a public-private partnership that counts WHO among its main partners – says it needs $4.8 billion for its 2022-2026 strategy to overcome the final hurdles to eliminating the disease.
The discovery in the London sewage samples suggests "there may be localised spread of polio virus, most likely within individuals that are not up to date with polio immunisations," Polio eradication expert says.
The newly launched campaign aims at reaching over 3 million children in the country amidst a shortage of trained staff.
With the Taliban trying to win the world’s recognition of its new government, the movement has taken a sharp turn from its past opposition to vaccination campaigns, which have not taken place in over three years.
Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria are the only countries in the world, where polio is endemic. And in contrast to recent years of gradual improvement, this year there have been at least 72 cases of polio in Pakistan after only eight in 2018.
Wild poliovirus type 3 is the second of three types of the crippling virus to be eradicated worldwide. Only type 1 still remains.
Total number of polio-affected children rises to 41 this year in Pakistan, where militant groups often target polio vaccinators and their security in several regions.
A Pakistani mother and daughter were killed in the country's southwestern city of Quetta. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.
Subscribe to our Youtube channel for all latest in-depth, on the ground reporting from around the world.
Copyright © 2023 TRT World.
Like
Follow