Epstein, dirty money and polio

Epstein rumours show why the polio programme must confront misinformation with honesty and transparency

I am a big critic of how the polio programme is being executed at the global level and locally in Pakistan. From the top medical journals like The Lancet to the editorial pages of this newspaper, I have highlighted critical flaws in the polio eradication strategy and management, and it has cost me many friendships. However, as a public health professional, our loyalty lies with the population we serve and not with a person, a specific agency or a donor.

A recently surfaced interview of a convicted child sex offender, in which he claims to support the polio eradication programme in both India and Pakistan, has once again ignited conspiracy theories about vaccination programmes specifically against polio.

The situation is so bad that one of my students told me that his daughter, who is a medical student, has asked him about the money he has received, as he still works in polio. Talking with different colleagues working on polio, I realised that many kids are asking the same questions.

A few days back, I saw another viral clip of a famous religious scholar who normally is modest in his practice and preaching. However, he linked Epstein polio money to the possibility of genetic engineering and questioned why, every few weeks, there is a polio vaccination campaign strictly enforced by the police if someone objects to it.

Instead of directly and proactively addressing these rumours and conspiracy theories, the polio programme has just issued a statement that the global polio programme has no record of any Epstein donation.

However, keeping these conspiracy theories open will not only undermine polio vaccinations, but all childhood vaccinations are also at risk. If children of multiple polio workers are now asking them if they have received money from Epstein, that needs to be responded to, truthfully and factually.

If a hospital or a mosque is being built, and some criminal also donates some money, that does not devalue the hospital or reduce the sanctity of the mosque. Secondly, polio eradication has enormous expenses (around 10 billion dollars in the last 12 years), and any individual donation will be minuscule in nature and will not carry any weight in decision-making.

In this interview, Geoffrey Epstein tried to use polio to get out of the hostile questioning of the anchor, who was calling his assets dirty money. Epstein used polio to establish that he used his money for a noble cause.

In that context, he was no different than many of our rich elite who, in Ramazan, will arrange free iftars while not caring for the poor in the remaining eleven months. Providing food for the hungry is a good deed, no matter who is paying for it.

Polio is and was a deadly disease killing thousands of young children every year. The tens of thousands were handicapped, struggling all their lives. We are close to eradicating this disease like smallpox. We, as kids, have seen adults with completely disfigured faces due to smallpox.

Newer generations have not seen them, and they may not appreciate the benefit of eradicating a vicious disease. Epstein was a dirty man with a dirty social circle of rich elite with a lot of dirty money, but that does not make polio eradication a bad thing to do. Multiple studies across the world, including Pakistan, have proved that the polio vaccine is safe and protective of kids.

My kids have received polio vaccines multiple times. There is no proof of any genetic engineering in it, and it's good for your child's health and life. The polio programme also needs to bring in transparency not only in its operations but also in its finances.