Polio cases reaches 63 in Pakistan: UNICEF

While reiterating UNICEF’s commitment to the eradication of polio in Pakistan, its Regional Director for South Asia, Daniel Toole emphasized the need to urgently improve local polio response, vaccination outreach, management and accountability for results. “We must ensure access to all children as specified in the President’s National Emergency Action Plan for Polio Eradication in Pakistan. We have a huge task ahead of us, and we must build on lessons learned and act now,” Mr. Toole who is currently visiting Pakistan to meet senior government and UN officials, said. According to the UNICEF, since the beginning of the year, Pakistan has continued to see rising numbers of polio cases (63 in 2011, compared to 36 cases in the same period last year). Balochistan has now reported 22 polio cases this year, more than any other province or region in the country. The virus which circulated in the five high risk districts in...