World Health News

"Deadly Bomb Targets Polio Vaccination Police in Pakistan and Ukraine Under Air-Raid Alert"

A bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan killed five police officers and injured nearly two dozen others during a polio vaccination drive in Bajaur, a tribal district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The attack, for which no one has claimed responsibility, occurred as Pakistan launched its latest round of the vaccination campaign. The Pakistan Taliban has previously targeted polio vaccination workers and security officials, and resistance to the immunization drive has grown due to past CIA involvement and misinformation spread by religious leaders. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries yet to be declared free of the wild poliovirus type 1, with Pakistan reporting six polio cases in 2023. This attack comes amid a surge in violent incidents in Pakistan, with over 600 violent attacks taking place in 2023, an increase of 70 percent from the preceding year, resulting in more than 950 deaths.