Eliminating diseases: Polio eradication in K-P still a far-fetched goal

Six cases of polio have been reported in the province this year.


Umer Farooq June 25, 2011

PESHAWAR:


Billions of rupees have been spent in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) since 1988 in an attempt to eliminate polio.


However the emergence of six new polio cases this year, three in Peshawar, one in Bannu and two in Torghar district, suggest that the goal of completely eradicating the virus from the province is a far-fetched goal.

To make matters worse, water from Gulbahar Canal, which carries water from Warsak Dam to surrounding villages and Peshawar, has been tested positive for polio virus, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report on polio in Pakistan.

Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) Provincial Deputy Director Dr Janbaz Afridi said that they are organising special campaigns in Bannu, Shangla, Buner and Torghar districts to administer polio drops. “We would extend it to other areas as well,” he said, adding that the campaigns would be held in different union councils of Peshawar on Sunday.

Official sources in the EPI, when contacted, said most of the cases of polio were due to parents’ refusal to get their children vaccinated. “We are closely monitoring the situation and are holding anti-polio campaigns even in those areas where our teams have been threatened by militants against vaccination,” he added.

An EPI official told The Express Tribune that Pakistanis could face a ban on travelling to several developed countries if the disease was not completely eradicated from the country. “The international community is very concerned about the issue, and it is mandatory for people travelling to gulf countries for Hajj and jobs to get themselves vaccinated,” he remarked.

However, the complexity in eliminating the disease is not only due to peoples’ reluctance, as the teams assigned to carry out vaccinations are often not committed to their jobs.

Muhammad Rafiq, a resident of Pasanni in Bannu district, said his son had not been vaccinated during the last three campaigns. “I have seen the polio teams visiting my village, but they did not bother to knock at my door during the three-day campaign,” he said, adding that this was the third time the team hadn’t come to his house.

EPI deputy director, when contacted, admitted they had received reports that some of the teams had been negligent. However, he said he was in contact with the team leaders to keep an eye on their performance. “The presence of polio in Pakistan is a threat to the whole world, as the disease can easily reach other countries. ,” he said.

Pakistan has been combating polio since 1988, when countries from all over the world joined hands at the World Health Assembly to eradicate polio from the world.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 25th, 2011.

COMMENTS (1)

Yakubu Usman | 12 years ago | Reply Am sure polio will go out in the whole country. Am thanking especially the donors like bill gate and somany of them.
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