"U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling the killing of health workers trying to vaccinate Pakistani children against polio in a U.N.-backed campaign 'cruel, senseless and inexcusable,'" the Associated Press reports, noting, "Ban said at his year-end news conference [on Wednesday] that the eight killed were among thousands across Pakistan 'working selflessly to achieve the historic goal of polio eradication'" (12/19). Similarly, "[t]he World Health Organization and UNICEF in their statements have expressed their strong commitment and support to the Government of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan in their efforts to rid the country of polio and other diseases," Pakistan Today writes (12/19).