Increased violence in country and lack of security are major problems that are hindering polio eradication in Pakistan
KARACHI: Polio can strike at any age, leaving an individual crippled for life. It mainly affects children under the age of five. It is indeed a matter of great concern that the number of polio cases is increasingly being reported and continues to threaten the future of our country, along with the future of the world. Hundreds of cases have been reported in Pakistan this year. Anti-polio immunisation campaigns have been suffering from continuous setbacks. Polio workers are being targeted because vaccination campaigns are not provided with enough security. Increased violence in the country and lack of security are major problems that are hindering polio eradication in Pakistan. These reasons are leading to continuous hurdles in the way of freeing Pakistan from polio.
Pakistan’s polio eradication campaigns are now complicating the global scenario for a polio-free world. Countries have already declared polio vaccination certificates mandatory for Pakistani travellers. The Independent Monitoring Board has also said that the policies of Pakistan’s government have failed in eradicating the virus permanently and this is very worrying.
Iqra Javed
Published in The Express Tribune, October 29th, 2014.
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