Superstition frustrates anti-polio efforts: Harvard survey

Rumours swirling around campaigns discourage inoculation in K-P

PESHAWAR: A survey conducted by Harvard University showed that the key challenges impeding in the polio eradication process in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa included poor knowledge about the disease among the masses and rumours associated with such campaigns.

The study reveals that very few people knew about the virus in the province specifically in the two high-risk districts including Bannu and Tank where only 57 per cent and 78 per cent of the people knew about the disease, respectively.



Despite the fact that efforts were being made at both provincial and national level to spread awareness, rumours regarding the anti-polio campaigns continued to increase in the province to the extent that people started to believe that the disease was curable.

“Rumours have increased in Tank to 41 per cent and in FR Bannu to 46 per cent,” revealed the survey titled ‘Knowledge, Attitude, Practice and Behavior Study’.

Officials dealing with the polio eradication campaign in K-P stated that the rumors mostly existed in areas where there was no media accessibility. One of the officials said that people rely on superstitions and unscientific methods to find a cure to the disease.

The study recommended that steps should be taken to educate people about polio virus in order to enhance their acceptability of the vaccines. Interventions should be customised to target the participants more likely to be associated with poor knowledge and negative attitudes towards polio immunisation.



Since a polio campaign is underway and is likely to continue until March 29, refusal cases in both the districts have further cautioned officials dealing with the programme.

Among a total of 58,422 children in Bannu, some 33,892 have been vaccinated until now. However, parents of some 6,093 children refused to vaccinate their children against the crippling virus and a total of 7,517 children were not available for vaccination in the district.

A similar situation was observed in Tank where 15,189 among 42,822 children were vaccinated and 1,636 children were kept away from the vaccination teams. Some 3,823 were not available during the visit of the teams.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 28^th, 2017.