Polio and Peril in Pakistan's Tribal Lands The recent wave of attacks on police officers guarding polio vaccination workers in north west Pakistan highlights the complexities of tackling this highly infectious disease in one of its last bastions.
A nationwide campaign is underway to immunize over 19 million children, but the Taliban's relentless campaign against the Pakistani state has claimed hundreds of lives among health workers and security personnel.
Militants have killed hundreds of police officers and health workers over the past decade as part of a deliberate strategy aimed at destabilizing the government.