Success on polio front

It is enormously satisfying that in the previous year, there was not a single case of polio in Pakistan. It is a milestone achievement for the country especially in a year in which it had to tackle the coronavirus pandemic too. In both the fights, the country has come out with flying colours. Pakistan’s feat has received approbation from UNICEF. This is a testament to the perseverance on the part of our health authorities and the government as they continued their hard work even in the face of heavy odds. It is a remarkable attainment by a country where a number of polio cases had been recorded just a year before. Our polio workers deserve a special mention here as they risked their lives in pursuit of the cause.

The UNICEF executive director has admired the federal and provincial governments for their unwavering commitment to polio eradication. The official also praised the National Emergency Operations Centre, which is at the apex of organisations looking after polio vaccination in the country, and its allied bodies for achieving the landmark zero figure of poliovirus infection. This, however, is not the end of the journey, as Pakistan has to maintain a zero polio record for three years without interruption to be declared polio-free.

Afghanistan too is making efforts to eradicate poliovirus from its soil, though few stray cases of infection still occur in remote areas of the country. Our war-ravaged neighbour is facing some similar challenges in the fight against polio. One expects Pakistani authorities to be mindful of the fact that for complete eradication of polio from the region, there is need to keep a watchful eye on the polio situation in Afghanistan too, as people and goods continuously move between the two countries. This might import or export the poliovirus from one country to the other.

The threat of polio staging a comeback remains as long as there is a single virus anywhere on the earth. The world community needs to act as one if the scourge of polio is to be eliminated from the globe once and for all.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2022.

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