Pakistan, politics and polio.

Page 1 of 5 Pakistan, politics and polio Sania Nishtar a Heartfile, 1 Park Road, Chak Shahzad, Islamabad, 44000, Pakistan. Correspondence to Sania Nishtar (e-mail: [email protected]). (Submitted: 7 April 2009 – Revised version received: 30 June 2009 – Accepted: 16 July 2009 – Published online: 8 December 2009) The United Nations Secretary General’s concern over the recent resurgence of polio cases in Pakistan should focus global attention on the country for reasons other than security, terrorism and conflict. As one of the four countries of the world now harbouring the disease, Pakistan faces many geopolitical and socio-economic challenges. While these threaten the country in many ways, they also pose a challenge for global health and jeopardize worldwide efforts aimed at eradicating polio. As long as a single child remains infected, children in all countries are at risk of contracting polio and we will not achieve the global goal of eradicating a disease for the second time in history.