Anti-polio campaign in Pakistan ends amid espionage doubts ‎

The months long anti-polio campaign in Pakistan has finally concluded. But this time around, the campaign left many children un-vaccinated primarily because of growing perception that the West through UN agencies and NGOs is spying on Pakistan particular in the northwest of the country. What built up the negative perception about the UN staff and NGOs as spies for American CIA , is the killing of Osama Bin Laden in May 2011 by the US commando. Months before, the US commando action, American CIA launched anti Hepatitis-B campaign to take the DNA tests of Bin Laden’s family to help Pentagon verify his whereabouts at a hideout in Abbotabad in northwest of the country. Since then, Shakil Afridi, a Pakistani doctor is in jail after security forces confirmed that he launched a fake hepatitis-B campaign to help Americans. Nonetheless the WHO staff, managed to vaccinate around 31 million children but at cost of Pro-Taliban militant attacks on its staff that left many killed and injured. Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio remains endemic. Just a few years back, Pakistan was on the verge of polio eradication. However, the number of polio cases have now increased dramatically to a 15 year record high. This is primarily because of strong perception that WHO officials and Pakistani paramedic staff, are US spies, something that deprived more 300,000, children from anti- polo vaccination, alone in country’s tribal region.