Two Health Workers Giving Polio Vaccinations Killed in Pakistan - East Idaho News

Two Health Workers Giving Polio Vaccinations Killed in Pakistan

  Published at

GETTY W 122212 PakistaniFlag?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1371412907797George Doyle/Thinkstock(PEBANI, Pakistan) — Two health workers trying to eradicate polio were killed in a targeted attack in a remote Pakistani village Sudnay.

The two health workers, both Pakistani, were giving polio vaccinations to young children when they were fatally shot by gunmen in the village of Pebani, in northeastern Pakistan.

Health workers are a common target in Pakistan, particularly in areas dominated by militants. Many accuse them of secretly working for the CIA, saying the vaccination campaign is a cover for collecting intelligence.

Pakistan is one of only three countries in the world where polio still exists. The United Nations and philanthropist Bill Gates are spending billions to eradicate it. If their efforts are successful, Polio would be the third disease ever to be eradicated, following smallpox and rinderpest, a cattle virus.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

SUBMIT A CORRECTION