New polio case reported in Pakistan

A new polio case has been reported in Pakistan's Khyber Agency, bringing the total number of cases detected this year to 200.

Khyber Agency has the highest number of reported polio cases after north Waziristan, Dawn online reported Saturday.

Official data shows that an overwhelming 96 percent of polio cases reported so far were found in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).

FATA, which has never been able to vaccinate its targeted population of around nine million since the global polio eradication initiative began in Pakistan in the mid 1990s, has become a real challenge for the government and UN agencies. They are finding it extremely hard to address the issue of reaching unvaccinated children and tackling vaccination refusal cases.