Around 1,981 parents have refused vaccination to their children in the tribal belt, whereas authorities said that over 100,000 children missed out in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) due to poor law and order situation.
The government said that North Waziristan people topped the list of polio vaccination refusals where 960 parents spurned vaccination in the region, including 365 in Khyber Agency, 340 in South Waziristan, 47 in Kurram Agency, 25 in Bajour and 12 in Mohmand Agency. The reason behind rejecting the vaccination is the rumours brought forth by some religious critics. Poor security situation in Khyber Agency also prevented polio teams from reaching 31 areas for vaccination. As many as 52,375 children could not be reached in Khyber Agency; 43,357 in Orakzai Agency; 14,216 in North Waziristan; 6,000 in South Waziristan; 3,779 in Kurram; and 289 in Kohat. Six cases of polio surfaced this year from the tribal region.