Pakistani polio workers trudge through deep snow to immunise children

AZAD KASHMIR: A video of polio workers, trudging through deep snow to immunise children in the country’s northern areas has gone viral, highlighting the dedication and sheer will to the cause even though their life is also at times at risk.

The viral video, shared by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Initiative, on microblogging site, Twitter, shows two female polio workers walking across the waist-deep snow in Azad Kashmir to vaccinate children in far-flung villages.

“Our frontline polio heroes are unstoppable. As extreme cold weather blankets Azad Jammu & Kashmir, these brave women make their way through several feet of snow to deliver vaccines to children during the ongoing #endpolio campaign. #SalamPolioWorker,” read the tweet.

The polio eradication campaign in Pakistan has faced many challenges, from the refusal of parents to administer the drops to attacks on polio teams by militants.

‘Pakistan starts first polio vaccine campaign of 2021’

Earlier, this week Pakistan launched its first polio vaccination for 2021.

The national polio immunization drive is of five days and aims to vaccinate over 40 million children under the age of five across Pakistan.

A supplementary dose of Vitamin A drops will also be administered to children aged 6 to 59 months.

“Our aim is to ensure timely and repeated vaccination of children. This is key to reduce the immunity gap and to protect our children against polio and other diseases,” Dr. Faisal Sultan, the prime minister’s special assistant on health, said as quoted in a statement by the Pakistan Polio Eradication Program (PPEP).