Polio is rising in Pakistan ahead of a new vaccination campaign

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Polio cases are rising ahead of a new vaccination campaign in Pakistan, where violence targeting health workers and the police protecting them has hampered years of efforts toward making the country polio-free. Since January, health officials have confirmed 39 new polio cases in Pakistan, compared to only six last year. The nationwide drive starts Oct. 28 with the aim to vaccinate at least 32 million children. Pakistan regularly launches campaigns against polio despite attacks on the workers and police assigned to the inoculation drives. Militants falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.