Workers in K-P continue to take a hit

IHC feared that polio virus could spread across the globe if concrete measures were not taken

PESHAWAR: There has been a surge in targeted attacks on polio workers across the country. These attacks are an attempt to discourage people from participating in immunisation drives.

In December 2012, a polio worker Farzana was shot dead while she was administering polio drops to children under the age of five in the city. Following these killings, polio workers steered clear of participating in immunisation drives. This resulted in a spike in polio cases. After a large number of polio cases surfaced in the region, the International Health Committee (IHC) decided in 2014 to restrict Pakistanis who do not possess a valid polio certificate from travelling abroad.  The committee declared that if suitable measures were not taken to eradicate the virus, it could spread across the globe from Pakistan.

Although the relevant authorities are geared towards eradicating the virus, propaganda against immunisation remains strong. As a result, several polio workers have fallen victim to targeted attacks. When the international community imposed sanctions on Pakistan, the authorities finally adopted a new approach to counter and eliminate poliovirus in 2016.

The authorities decided that security personnel would accompany polio workers in campaigns in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. The strategy was particularly effective as the number of attacks reduced.

The parent trap

Recently, a large number of parents have refused to inoculate their children and the authorities have started putting pressure on the parents.

Parents started hiding their children when polio workers would visit their houses. The workers kept a detailed record of those unavailable at the time of their visit. Nevertheless, the campaigns were still not moving in the right direction.

In a surprising move, the city district administration, claimed ownership over the movement to eradicate the virus and started arresting those parents who would refuse to administer polio drops to their children.

In April 2015, the World Health Organization expressed concern over sending parents behind bars for refusing to immunise their children.

As a result, the administration would try to convince parents by involving religious scholars and other influential people. As a last resort, they would arrest parents. WHO officials said the K-P government was carrying out efforts to eradicate the crippling virus but it should convince people by taking all stakeholders on board.

On the other hand, DC Riaz Mehsud reinforced its commitment to continue its ongoing strategy to arrest parents.

Mehsud was quoted as saying in 2015, “We know how to ensure that people comply with its orders. Our main priority is not to put the lives of children at risk. If parents fail to comply, we have no choice but to pursue other options.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2016.