ISLAMABAD: Some 154 Pakistani children lost their lives to measles over the month of January, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, expressing serious concern over deaths from measles in Pakistan.
The UN specialized agency said that 154 children were killed from measles during the first month of 2013 with 93 deaths taking place in Sindh, 39 children died from the disease in Balochistan, 12 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 8 in Punjab. One death from measles was reported in Islamabad and FATA.
Last month, the health department had launched a massive vaccination drive against measles across Sindh, but analysts and experts claimed that majority of the children were not vaccinated during the emergency campaign.
A WHO official said measles is a childhood killer disease, but preventable through immunization.
DND
