Pakistan Fighting to Vaccinate

Pakistani Police Arrest Over 450 Parents For Refusing Polio Vaccine

Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic.

by Associated Press

In Pakistan, The Push To Eradicate Polio Competes With “The Zillion Other Issues”

Despite hundreds of millions in international aid funds, vaccination drives and decades of awareness campaigns, Pakistan remains polio’s last refuge.

In Pakistan, The Push To Eradicate Polio Competes With “The Zillion Other Issues”

KARACHI, Pakistan --- The number of reported cases of polio crossed the 200 mark this month, confirming Pakistani health officials' worst fears: The viral disease is out of control. In 2012 and 2013, polio cases were down significantly -- 58 and 93, respectively. However, when the country reported its 212th case this week, it

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Zofeen Ebrahim

Zofeen Ebrahim

Zofeen Ebrahim has been the MintPress News South East Asia Correspondent since 2014. She is based in Karachi, Pakistan. For Zofeen , the path to journalism was never a "carefully thought out" or a "planned" career choice. It was as if she was being led towards it. After graduating, and doing her master’s she got married and moved cities. "I had no clue what I wanted to do or even if I wanted a career". A small inconspicuous advert in an English daily changed all that for her. They were seeking editorial assistants for an English language women's magazine that was soon to be launched. Since then there has been no looking back for her. Today, she freelances for several national (Dawn and The News) and international (IPS, The Guardian, The Third Pole) media organisations and writes about issues that touch her heart. She can be reached at zofeen28@hotmail.com and follow her on Twitter at @zofeen28.

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Military Operation Opens Immunization Window In Pakistan

The mass exodus of Pakistanis fleeing the dangers of war has a surprising bright side: polio vaccinators can finally reach previously unreachable children.

Military Operation Opens Immunization Window In Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan --- As the Pakistan army continues to flush out militants and destroy their hideouts, 1 million residents have fled North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with nothing but the clothes on their backs. They’re risking their lives to escape the dangers of war, and in the process, they’ve become another source

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Zofeen Ebrahim

Zofeen Ebrahim

Zofeen Ebrahim has been the MintPress News South East Asia Correspondent since 2014. She is based in Karachi, Pakistan. For Zofeen , the path to journalism was never a "carefully thought out" or a "planned" career choice. It was as if she was being led towards it. After graduating, and doing her master’s she got married and moved cities. "I had no clue what I wanted to do or even if I wanted a career". A small inconspicuous advert in an English daily changed all that for her. They were seeking editorial assistants for an English language women's magazine that was soon to be launched. Since then there has been no looking back for her. Today, she freelances for several national (Dawn and The News) and international (IPS, The Guardian, The Third Pole) media organisations and writes about issues that touch her heart. She can be reached at zofeen28@hotmail.com and follow her on Twitter at @zofeen28.

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Polio Exporter: Pakistan Slapped With Travel Restrictions

Strains of the polio virus found throughout the world have been traced back to Pakistan, so it was only a matter of time before the country’s travelers would face travel restrictions.

Naeem Sadiq, a Karachi-based businessman, was set to travel to London, Vancouver and Baltimore, last week to visit his children, but then he heard about possible travel restrictions to be imposed on Pakistanis. With just two days before he was scheduled to leave, he rushed to find out from various hospitals, government health departments and

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Zofeen Ebrahim

Zofeen Ebrahim

Zofeen Ebrahim has been the MintPress News South East Asia Correspondent since 2014. She is based in Karachi, Pakistan. For Zofeen , the path to journalism was never a "carefully thought out" or a "planned" career choice. It was as if she was being led towards it. After graduating, and doing her master’s she got married and moved cities. "I had no clue what I wanted to do or even if I wanted a career". A small inconspicuous advert in an English daily changed all that for her. They were seeking editorial assistants for an English language women's magazine that was soon to be launched. Since then there has been no looking back for her. Today, she freelances for several national (Dawn and The News) and international (IPS, The Guardian, The Third Pole) media organisations and writes about issues that touch her heart. She can be reached at zofeen28@hotmail.com and follow her on Twitter at @zofeen28.

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CIA’s Fake Vaccination Ruse Fueling Polio Outbreak: Pakistani Official

Foreign Ministry spokesperson says CIA’s 2011 plot has sparked hostility to vaccination drives and hampered efforts to stem outbreak of highly infectious disease.

A Pakistani official on Thursday slammed the CIA's fake vaccination drive in 2011 for fueling distrust of polio eradication campaigns and driving "attacks on polio workers" as the country grapples with an outbreak of this highly infectious disease that is spiraling into a global

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Pakistani Polio Strain Threatens Global Campaign

Pakistan’s beleaguered battle to eradicate polio is threatening a global, multi-billion-dollar campaign to wipe out the disease worldwide.

Pakistani Polio Strain Threatens Global Campaign

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Just a few weeks ago, 11-month-old Shaista was pulling herself up, giggling as she took her first wobbly steps with the helping hand of her teenage mother. Then the polio virus struck and Shaista was no longer able to stand, her legs buckling beneath her weight. Today, her mother cries a lot and wonders what will become

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Associated Press

Associated Press

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Pakistan: Where Conspiracy Theories Can Cost A Child’s Life

American parents have the luxury of being able to buy into vaccine conspiracies as their children are protected by others’ immunity. But with Pakistan’s polio epidemic, the results are tragic.

Pakistan: Where Conspiracy Theories Can Cost A Child’s Life

KARACHI, Pakistan — When health workers approached Zulfikar Quaid about inoculating his three children against polio, Quaid picked up an old cricket bat inside his home and waved it at them. "Get out of my house," he yelled. "My children are Muslim and we don't need your dirty Hindu drugs." The health workers he was yelling at were stunned —

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