‘Drops take seconds but change a life for ever’: the women saving India’s remotest people from polio
Shameema and Tanzeela must trek for miles in summer heat to vaccinate children in Kashmir’s highlands as part of a vast national programme Before sunrise
Shameema and Tanzeela must trek for miles in summer heat to vaccinate children in Kashmir’s highlands as part of a vast national programme Before sunrise, Shameema slips on her worn rubber sandals and checks the insulated bo the ice packs inside must maintain the crucial cold chain at between 2C and 8C (35.6-46.4F).
She hoists the container on one shoulder and steps out into the dark. Tanzeela follows with her own pack, after quickly retying the laces of her canvas shoes. Both women live in Pulwama, a district where summer temperatures climb to 37C.
Their destination lies higher, out of the valley where asphalt turns to dirt track and then to a barely distinguishable footpath along the floor of
the mountain pine forests. Continue reading...
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