Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI) is saddened by the killing of a polio vaccination worker and a policeman in Pakistan after a bomb exploded near their van in Peshawar. The loss highlights the risks run by health workers, charities and Rotarians who visit Pakistan to administer polio vaccinations to children at risk.
President of RIBI, Nan McCreadie said: “It is distressing to hear the news of these killings, particularly because these individuals were only there to try to protect children from a disease which paralyses limbs, brings a lifetime of crippling pain and can sometimes be fatal."
Challenges facing health and immunisation workers in Pakistan include access to remote villages, overcoming cultural misunderstandings and conflict. Despite these threats to the polio immunisation drive, Rotarians will continue to reach out to communities and help save millions of children’s lives.
Nan concluded: “Despite the risks, Rotarians, along with their partner organisations, remain as committed to the campaign to eradicate polio from the world as they have always been.”
World Polio Day is on October 24th and Rotarians will be holding fundraising events throughout Great Britain and Ireland to raise funds for End Polio Now.
In November, a team of Rotarians from Great Britain and Ireland will be travelling to India for National Immunisation Day. to help administer vaccinations to hundreds of children in just a few days.
