Polio point man says no need for alarm

Says country remains on track to eradicating the crippling disease despite recent spike in cases

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s point person on polio believes that the recent upsurge in outbreaks across the country is no cause for alarm.

According to Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Babar Bin Atta, eradication authorities expected the spike in polio cases reported over the second half of last year and the first half of this year.

“We knew that there would be more polio cases at the end of the low transmission season,” said Babar. He cited massive refusals to vaccinate children in the aftermath of a ‘well-orchestrated incident in Peshawar’ as the main reason behind the rise. According to him, cases would begin decreasing next year onwards and Pakistan would interrupt poliovirus transmission by 2022.

“The polio programme has been put right back on track by a revamp of its communications and operation strategies,” Babar said while promising massive changes in the eradication initiative. Responding to the critical appraisal of Pakistan’s polio programme by the 21st International Health Regulations Emergency Committee, he said the country’s eradication authorities were aware of the international community’s concerns.

“Around the world, there is a movement against vaccination,” he pointed out, referring to the worst-ever measles outbreak in New. “I know what it will take to achieve eradication.

In Pakistan, he said, masses’ risk perception is the biggest challenge to eradicating polio. “Already, 95% of Pakistani children are vaccinated,” Babar said. “But the remaining 5%, who make up around a million children, are the reason this virus keeps spreading.”

“Community mistrust lies at the heart of the problem; if it can happen in New York, it can happen in Pakistan,” he added.

According to Babar, special efforts are being made to eradicate the disease in areas that are the root of the problem, such as Bannu Division, despite security and communications challenges. “Drainage samples from two sites in Peshawar have tested negative for poliovirus which means somebody at some level is doing the right thing,” he pointed out.

Babar added that polio eradicators are trying to build alliances and win the trust of the community through a multi-pronged strategy. “The results will be visible sooner rather than later.”