GILGIT: Nearly 1,600 polio workers will boycott an anti-polio campaign in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) because a dispute regarding pensions and other privileges remained unresolved, Polio Workers Association for GB Vice President Mohammad Abbas said on Monday.
Of the 1,600 polio workers, 99 per cent were female.
Abbas said that the boycott was ongoing in all ten districts of GB. He added that prior to the boycott, they had not received cooperation in solving their problems through negotiations.
The four-day nationwide anti-polio campaign started on Monday in an effort to vaccinate more than 38 million children under five years of age. During the campaign, over 270,000 frontline workers will go door to door to ensure that every child receives vaccines.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world that have reported poliovirus cases this year.
