Pakistan's polio excuses

Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries on Earth where wild poliovirus remains endemic. Every other nation - from war-torn Somalia to resource-poor Malawi - has interrupted transmission. But we have excuses at every corner. We developed nuclear weapons on a shoestring budget and are still one of only eight nuclear-armed nations. Yet we are also one of only two countries where polio still cripples children. That contrast should shame every official who signs another glossy progress report.

Health officials and government functionaries claim 98% of citizens are fully vaccinated, yet nearly one million children were missed in a single campaign, and over 53,000 families refused the drops outright. Nationwide routine immunisation has been estimated as low as 60%, miles away from herd immunity - the threshold at which enough people are protected that an outbreak becomes impossible. Meanwhile, the virus keeps showing up in sewage samples across the country, proving that official statistics and ground reality are dangerously divorced.

The excuses are as predictable as they are unacceptable. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa indeed faces militant attacks on vaccinators, community boycotts and access constraints. Almost 100 people have been killed in attacks on vaccinators since 2012. But other countries have also fought insurgencies, poverty and vaccine hesitancy - often at the same time - and still eliminated polio. The difference is that they built trust, engaged local communities and held officials accountable for results. Pakistan keeps issuing directives, chairing task forces and taking donor handouts, but takes no tangible action against failure. In fact, our political leaders actively blame each other for their respective region's problems.

At this rate, we will never be free of polio. We will keep counting missed children while the world moves on. If a nation that mastered nuclear deterrence cannot deliver two drops to every child, the problem is not capacity. It is will. Until that changes, millions of Pakistani children will continue facing the unnecessary risk of lifelong paralysis.