This way, we can give our posterity a polio free Pakistan
BANNU: It is disheartening to see that parents themselves can become a cause for children’s suffering. Despite using many modern medicines to combat various ailments, the majority of our conservative populace still have the misconception that the polio vaccination is un-Islamic and a conspiracy of the West. Consequently, they not only tend to hide their children, especially infants, from polio workers, but also try to harm those who vaccinate their children. Such ignorance of a section of society impedes the complete eradication of polio from the country. Hence, Pakistan, according to the World Health Organisation, still stands in the list of the remaining two polio infected countries — the other being Afghanistan, where the majority of people share the same thinking.
Therefore, it is about time our esteemed religious leaders clear the misconceptions of many people by practically participating in polio eradication campaigns and conveying a sense to the people that there is nothing un-Islamic about polio vaccination. This way, we can give our posterity a polio free Pakistan.
Sohail Anwar
Published in The Express Tribune, December 7th, 2016.
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