ISLAMABAD, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan on Friday launched a nationwide anti-polio vaccination campaign targeting millions of children under the age of five in an effort to eradicate the crippling disease from the country.
Thousands of polio workers will be engaged in the vaccination drive to inoculate the children at their doorstep in all four provinces, with a special focus on high-risk districts across the country, according to government health officials.
Launching the anti-polio vaccination campaign by administering polio drops to children at an event here, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif vowed to make the country free from polio.
Pakistan is one of the few countries in the world where polio is still recognized as an endemic viral infection, the prime minister said, adding that parents should not miss getting their children administered the polio drops and support the government's goal to make Pakistan polio-free.
Sharif also emphasized the role of the government leaders, health workers and parents to ensure that the disease never paralyzed a child. ■