Islamabad, Jan 9 (IANS): An "inordinate delay" in buying measles vaccines by the Pakistan government led to over 200 deaths in the country, a leading Pakistani daily said Wednesday.

Officials in Sindh province, where most of the deaths were reported in the last two months, blamed the federal government for the delay, the Dawn reported.

A recent World Health Organisation report said as many as 7,274 cases of measles were reported in Sindh, of which 210 children died. The disease broke out during the last week of October in northern areas of Sindh province that were hit by floods in August and September.

The delay in buying the vaccine also led to rise in prices from $2.4 to $4.25 for 10 doses within a year.

Though the annual target for the government was to vaccinate over five million children across the country, an official said the ministry of inter-provincial coordination could not manage to buy 3.5 million doses on time because funds for it were not released.