Pakistan vaccinates children against polio

A natiowide vaccination campaign is being held today in Pakistan, in an attempt to rid the country of poliomyelitis.

At least fifteen-million children under the age of five are being vaccinated at centres across the country.

The information minister, Mushahid Hussain, told the BBC that in 1993, when Pakistan began its campaign against the disease, it accounted for a fifth of the world's known cases of polio.

Now, the government hopes to eradicate polioby the turn of the century.

The United Nations children's fund, UNICEF, is helping with the campaign -- and some half a million volunteers are taking part.

The BBC correspondent in Islamabad says that apart from the polio campaign, Pakistan has a poor health record.

Half the population has no access to medical facilities.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service