Pakistan could be world's last polio reservoir: UNICEF

As many as 63 new polio cases have been reported in Pakistan this year.Daniel Toole, UNICEFs Regional Director for South Asia who is in Pakistan to meet government and UN officials, has emphasised the need to urgently improve local polio response, vaccination outreach, management and accountability for results.We must ensure access to all children as specified in the Presidents National Emergency Action Plan for Polio Eradication in Pakistan. We have a huge task ahead of us, and we must build on lessons learned and act now, Toole said.Since beginning of the year, Pakistan has continued to see rising numbers of polio cases. In 2011, a total of 63 cases were reported compared to 36 in the same period last year.Balochistan province has reported 22 polio cases this year, more than any other region in Pakistan.The virus, which circulated in five high-risk districts in Balochistan, has spread to districts previously not infected for the past five years.The militancy-hit tribal belt has reported 20 cases, Sindh province has 14, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province has six, and Gilgit-Baltistan has one case.Punjab, with 60 per cent of Pakistans population, has not reported any cases of polio this year and UNICEF said this was a major accomplishment that must be sustained.