ISLAMABAD - The United Nations has suspended anti-polio drive in Pakistan following a decision of the Pakistan government to temporarily halt the vaccination drive after repeated attacks on health workers claimed eight lives in three days.
"In light of the prevailing security situation, WHO and UNICEF Pakistan are implementing additional security protocols to ensure the safety and security of their polio workers," the two UN bodies said in a joint statement issued here on Wednesday.
As many as eight workers of the anti-polio staff, including six women health workers, were killed in separate incidents of violence in Karachi, Peshawar and Charsadda since the start of three-day national anti-polio campaign on Monday.
On Tuesday, five health workers, four in Karachi and one in Peshawar were shot dead by unidentified men, believed to be militants. A day earlier, an anti-polio campaigner was shot down in Karachi. On Wednesday, a lady health worker and her driver were gunned down in Charsadda in yet another case of targeted killings of the health workers. All the slain officials belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh health departments.
Five persons were injured on Wednesday in attacks on the anti-polio campaigners in Nowshera.
"The Government of Pakistan decided to suspend anti-polio campaign in Pakistan due to security reasons. In compliance, we have also suspended our operations concerning polio eradication," the World Health Organisation (WHO) Country Chief in Pakistan Dr Guido Sabatinelli told this newspaper.
More than 500 WHO workers, he said, were involved in the polio eradication campaign in Pakistan, carried out in coordination with the provincial and federal governments.
Regarding the resumption of polio eradication operations, the WHO official said, the operations would be resumed after getting the government's nod.
"It's for the Pakistani government, which leads the polio eradication campaign at the national level, to decide when to resume the operations. As soon as the operations are resumed, the WHO would join Pakistan in its efforts to eliminate polio."
Asked to comment on the possibility of relocating the WHO staff from here in the wake of deteriorating security situation, Dr Sabatinelli said, "We're very much here. There's no question of relocation."
Sarah Crowe, the Spokesperson for UNICEF executive director said, the United Nations Children Fund was 'outraged' over the killings of health workers in Pakistan.
"This outrageous crime cannot defeat the resolve demonstrated by the Government of Pakistan and the UNICEF to eradicate polio. We advise our staff members to adhere to the security protocols and preventive measures that need to be followed in the prevailing situation and hope that appropriate arrangements shall be made to guarantee the security of health workers at the governmental level," she told TheNation by phone from New York.
The UN sources said, more than 1500 UNICEF staff members were engaged in the polio eradication campaign in Pakistan. "The polio elimination drive is led by the provincial governments concerned as well as the federal government. Our field staff provides communication support," the officials said, adding, that the UNICEF, in coordination with the government and WHO, targeted to vaccinate over 34 million children four times a year under the national anti-polio campaign. Separate vaccination campaigns are also conducted four times a year, in the high-risk areas where polio cases are prevalent.
Reportedly, the security level for the UN's respective emergency health clusters has been enhanced from three to four, as already being followed in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and KP. The KP Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain said, the security for the UN and other foreign missions has been enhanced.
"We have deployed additional troops from KP police, Frontier Constabulary and Frontier Corps (FC) for the protection of foreign missions.”
Requesting anonymity, a WHO official said, the attacks on health workers were unprecedented. "This does not happen in any part of the world.
Even in Afghanistan, the Taliban militants spare the health workers realising that the they (health workers) are there to help," the official said.
"The UNICEF and WHO join the government and people of Pakistan in condemning the multiple attacks in the past week. Those killed or injured, many of whom are women, are among hundreds of thousands of heroes who work selflessly to eradicate polio and provide other health services to children in Pakistan," the Wednesday joint statement said.