The fight against polio

Unlike what we believe in Pakistan, we are told that the global campaign against polio over the past few decades has been a great success story, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting just 33 cases of polio worldwide in 2018.

Unfortunately, most of those reported were in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the danger is that so long as a single child remains infected, the virus can quickly spread into polio-free countries and unimmunised populations.  While Pakistan has made huge strides in tackling polio, officials say that the latest immunisation drive succeeded in inoculating 37.6 million children. 1.4 million were left unprotected.

The government has shown the political will to fight this menace, it is the ignorance of people and the games played by some quarters that are responsible for the shame Pakistan faces over its record on polio.

There are many myths associated with polio which many interested quarters tend to exaggerate more so for political and less for any other reason.

To begin with, people should know that there is no known cure for polio, but the disease can be prevented if children are given multiple treatments with the vaccine. This is where the problem lies. Pakistan and Afghanistan are two of just three countries in the world - Nigeria is the third - where polio remains endemic.

Some clerics have peddled stories that the vaccines are part of Western plot to make Muslims sterile, while militant groups have killed nearly 100 health workers and their guards since 2012 on the pretext that they could be Western spies.  In this we are told that the militant groups trace back their anger to the tactics used by the Americans to trace Osama Bin Ladin.

Having said that, it is in Pakistan’s own interest to eliminate polio. There is no political implication or conspiracy involved in this.  Of the 1.4 million left unprotected, we have on our hands a great responsibility.

At this point, our fight is against ignorance.  Some weeks back, militants shot and killed a medical worker and two policemen guarding other vaccination teams in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.

Every year Pakistan’s government mounts public education campaigns and recruits Muslim religious leaders to reassure people, but their suspicions persist. Where are we going wrong and who is responsible for this misinformation? More important, what are we doing to fight this ignorance?

As a result of false rumors, some weeks back families of hundreds of thousands of children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and elsewhere refused to participate in the latest campaign to eradicate a virus that can cause paralysis or death.

An inquiry found the false stories originated at two schools on the outskirts of Peshawar. Health workers seeking to vaccinate pupils from the Dar ul Qalam and Roza tul Atfaal schools had met with repeated refusals, according to provincial officials.  No action has been taken against the schools. They continue to spew their venom.

Investigators also identified and arrested a man seen in a video telling dozens of children to pose as if the vaccine had rendered them unconscious. This was shared on social media extensively. But apart from a mild rebuke, the man was let off without any legal action.

Police also arrested 16 other men, some of whom had threatened vaccination teams on the streets. But again, little has been done to punish them for their crime.

One can only wonder how long the government will adopt this non-serious attitude towards polio.  Citing fears of attacks on health workers, authorities continue to call off drives for vaccination.

Possibly, one of the toughest jobs in Pakistan is that of a polio worker.  This person toils day and night at great risk to life and limb in a bid to rid our country of a disease that has been eliminated in all parts of the world. Poorly paid and largely unrecognised and unappreciated, one can only wonder why they continue to fight the good fight.

We need to act with resolve. This isn’t just about the 1.4 million that have been left behind. We have become a laughing stock in the world when it comes to health issues – polio is one such example.  When we talk of national pride and patriotism, let us spend a moment thinking about our poor record on polio. It is time we did something.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2019.

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