Polio has been eradicated over most of the world, but Pakistan is still fighting the disease, in part because of skepticism about vaccines. One woman is fighting to change that…
Abdullah Khan’s 11-month-old son, Hamza, contracted polio after the family refused to let a visiting health team in Pakistan’s Balochistan region give his child vaccination drops. He’s now urging other parents not to make the same mistake. Pakistan resumed a polio-vaccination campaign in July after efforts were halted by attacks on aid workers and the coronavirus pandemic
There was a spike in polo cases across Afghanistan and Pakistan last year with dozens of new cases reported in both countries, highlighting an increase in the epidemic compared to 2018. Officials blame parents refusing to have their children vaccinated, misinformation and militant threats as the main reasons for the uptick