German Development Minister Dirk Niebel on Wednesday urged Pakistan to take steps to resume a polio eradication campaign after a wave of deadly attacks on health workers. The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) suspended the field operations in Pakistan after two health workers were shot dead and one seriously wounded, taking the death toll to eight this week.

"The Pakistan government must do everything in its power to ensure that these immunisations are carried out," Niebel told dpa. "Polio is a scourge of humanity that can be eradicated."

Copyright Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 2012