
-
US stocks soar on Trump tariff reversal, oil prices jump
-
Salah getting closer to new Liverpool deal: reports
-
NBA rescinds Doncic ejection foul in Thunder loss
-
Cricketer De Villiers gets a Masters hit with pal Bezuidenhout
-
Saudi top diplomat in US to prepare for Trump visit
-
Kvaratskhelia genius helps give PSG Champions League edge against Villa
-
Sensational Barca destroy Dortmund in Champions League mismatch
-
Author of explosive Meta memoir stars at US Senate hearing
-
King Charles addresses Italian parliament, greets pope on visit to Rome
-
Dominican Republic ends search for nightclub collapse survivors
-
Trump stuns with tariff backtrack but punishes China
-
King Charles jokes, cites Monty Python at Italian state banquet
-
Strength in numbers: Latin America urges unity in face of Trump tariffs
-
France could recognise Palestinian state 'in June': Macron
-
Tariff war could cut US-China goods trade by 80 percent: WTO chief
-
Europa League success 'massive' for Man Utd, says Amorim
-
Scheffler tunes out talk of history in Masters title defense
-
Turkey opposition to fight Erdogan 'until the end': leader tells AFP
-
Argentina braces for 24-hour strike as it awaits news on IMF loan
-
Volkswagen says first-quarter profits impacted by Trump tariffs
-
Hope fades as deaths mount in Dominican Republic nightclub disaster
-
Herd of animal puppets treks from Africa to Europe in climate action
-
Trump stuns with tariffs reversal but hits China harder
-
Amazon to launch first batch of satellites rivaling Musk
-
Sudharsan, Krishna lead Gujarat to top of IPL table
-
Settlement champion Huckabee confirmed as US Israel envoy
-
Trump pauses tariffs for 90 days but hits China harder
-
US federal judges halt deportations of Venezuelans under wartime law
-
No direct LIV path to Masters but Ridley wants one elite tour
-
UK cinemas fight viral 'chicken jockey' trend
-
Nepal fights wildfires and pollution amidst drier winter
-
Jamaican speed merchant Thompson seeks fast progress in 2025
-
'Horrible' Djokovic falls in Monte Carlo, first win for Alcaraz
-
Masters chief defends Cabrera invite after domestic violence convictions
-
Pentagon chief in Panama vows to counter China 'threat'
-
Trump's NASA chief pick says will 'prioritize' Mars mission
-
Europe's first Universal theme park to bring 'joy to Britain': PM
-
Trump tells US to 'be cool' as China, EU strike back
-
Djokovic crashes out in Monte Carlo, first win for Alcaraz
-
Over 120 dead in Dominican Republic nightclub disaster
-
Delta to trim capacity in light of weakening travel demand
-
Pressure builds on Afghans fearing arrest in Pakistan
-
From Freddy Kruegers to Peaky Blinders: a look at Ecuador's drug gangs
-
Postecoglou says 'general sentiment' points to Spurs exit
-
French group gets death threats over renaming of 'Negresse' district
-
Beijing rejects Ukraine claim 'many' Chinese fighting for Russia
-
Germany 'back on track' says Merz, unveiling new coalition
-
France struggles to find new home for two orcas after park closes
-
Alcaraz recovers from sluggish start to move into Monte Carlo last 16
-
Trump trade war escalates as China, EU counterattack

Pakistan anti-polio drive struggles against militants, mistrust
Militant attacks and suspicion stemming from misinformation are hampering Pakistan's battle to eradicate polio, but teams of dedicated volunteer health workers are determined to fight on.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only countries where the debilitating virus remains endemic, the disease mostly affecting children under five and sometimes causing lifelong paralysis.
Cases in Pakistan are on the rise, with 45 registered so far this year, up from six in 2023 and only one in 2021.
Polio can easily be prevented by the oral administration of a few drops of vaccine, but in parts of rural Pakistan health workers risk their lives to save others.
Last week seven people including five children were killed when a bomb targeted police travelling to guard vaccine workers. Days earlier two police escorts were gunned down by militants.
"When we hear that a polio vaccination team has been attacked, it deeply saddens us," said health worker Zainab Sultan, 28, as she went door to door in Panam Dehri in northwest Pakistan
"Our responsibility now is to continue our work. Our job is to protect people from disability, to vaccinate children, and to make them healthy members of society."
- False claims -
In the past firebrand clerics falsely claimed the vaccine contained pork or alcohol, forbidding it for consumption by Muslims.
A fake vaccination campaign organised by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Pakistan in 2011 to track Osama bin Laden compounded the mistrust.
More recently, militant groups have shifted to targeting armed police escorts in their campaigns of violence against the state.
Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic uptick in attacks since the return of the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021, with Islamabad claiming hostile groups are now operating from there.
"In our area, nearly half of the parents were initially resistant to the polio vaccine, believing it to be a ploy by the West," said local resident Ehsanullah, who goes by one name.
"There was a lack of awareness," he said. "If this disease is spreading because of our reluctance, we are not just harming ourselves but the entire community."
- Rumours debunked -
From previously being blamed for the mistrust of polio vaccines, some religious leaders -- who wield immense authority in Pakistan -- are now at the forefront of the campaign to convince parents.
"All major religious schools and scholars in Pakistan have debunked the rumours surrounding the polio vaccine," said Imam Tayyab Qureshi.
"Those who attack polio vaccination teams have no connection to Islam or humanity," he said in the provincial capital of Peshawar, where Panam Dehri lies on the outskirts.
For one parent in Panam Dehri, the endorsement by religious chiefs proved pivotal.
"Initially I did not vaccinate my children against polio. Despite everyone's efforts, I refused," said 40-year-old Zulfiqar, who uses one name.
"Later, the Imam of our mosque came to explain the importance of the polio vaccine, telling me that he personally vaccinated his own children and encouraged me to do the same," he said.
"After that, I agreed."
Another impediment can be that parents in impoverished areas use the government's eagerness to vaccine as a bargaining chip, attempting to negotiate investment in water and road projects.
"There are demand-based boycotts and community boycotts that we face," lamented Ayesha Raza, spokeswoman for the government polio eradication campaign.
"Your demands may be very justified, but don't link it to your children's health," she pleads to them.
- Personal battle -
For some health workers, the battle to eradicate polio is more personal.
Hobbling door-to-door in Panam Dehri, polio survivor Ismail Shah's paralysed leg does not slow his mission.
"I decided in my childhood that when I grew up I would fight against the disease that disabled me," said the 35-year-old.
Shah is among 400,000 volunteers and health workers who spent the past week patiently explaining to families that the oral innoculation -- administered in two doses -- is safe.
Their goal is to protect 45 million children, but it's far from straightforward. When Shah arrived in his patch of 40,000 inhabitants there were more than 1,000 refusals.
"Now, there are only 94 reluctant parents left, and soon I will persuade them as well," he said.
A.P.Maia--PC