Suspicion slows dangerous work to eradicate polio in Pakistan

Women trying to vaccinate millions of children in face of death threats, distrust of authority and a creaking healthcare system

In the dense alleyways of Ittehad town on the outskirts of Karachi, the fastest growing city in Pakistan, Farhina Tousif is waging a losing battle with a mother over vaccinating her children against polio.

“Do you have any children in this household under the age of five?” Tousif calls through a curtain separating the male and female quarters of a conservative Pashtun family. “No,” comes the answer via a nine-year-old boy, who is translating between the national language, Urdu, and the woman’s native Pashtu.

When one of us dies, the number of vaccinators falls for months. But we need the money, so they usually come back

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from Children | The Guardian http://ift.tt/1FWlulA