ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani health official says the country has kicked off its first nationwide polio vaccination campaign for the year in efforts to eradicate the crippling 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.
Militant threats and deep-rooted superstition have spurred many parents, particularly in areas bordering Afghanistan, to refuse to vaccinate their children.
Rana Safdar says the drive that started on Monday is targeting 39.2 million under-five children across the country, except for some areas badly hit by winter rains. He says 260,000 staffers are involved. The campaign will try to include children who move across the Afghan-Pakistan border.
In 2018, Pakistan reported only eight new polio cases.
Pakistan kicks off year’s first polio campaign in 2019
Pakistan kicks off year’s first polio campaign in 2019
- It is one of the three countries in the world where polio is still endemic
- Pakistan reported only eight new polio cases in 2018
Three more UK pro-Palestinian activists end hunger strike
- The detainees are due to stand trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of the Palestine Action campaign group before it was banned under anti-terrorism laws
LONDON: Three detained pro-Palestinian activists awaiting trial in the UK have ended their hunger strike after 73 days, a campaign group said.
The three began “refeeding” on Wednesday, Prisoners for Palestine said in a statement late on Wednesday.
The decision leaves just one person still on hunger strike who started six days ago, it confirmed to AFP. Four others called off their hunger strike earlier.
The detainees are due to stand trial for alleged break-ins or criminal damage on behalf of the Palestine Action campaign group before it was banned under anti-terrorism laws.
They deny the charges.
The group, aged 20-31, launched their hunger strike in November in protest at their treatment and called for their release from prison on bail as they await trial.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer previously said in parliament that all “rules and procedures” were being followed in their cases.
His government outlawed Palestine Action in July after activists, protesting the war in Gaza, broke into a UK air force base and caused an estimated £7 million ($9.3 million) of damage.
Some of those on hunger strike are charged in relation to that incident.
The inmates’ demands included that the government lift its Palestine Action ban and close an Israel-linked defense firm.
Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori challenged the ban last July, and High Court judges are expected to rule at a later date on whether to uphold the prohibition.
