Stray dogs turn polio drive into a dangerous mission

Frontline vaccinators face attacks in Karachi and across Sindh

KARACHI:

Their mission is to protect children from a crippling disease, but for more than 58,000 polio workers in Sindh, reaching doorsteps has become a battle of its own. As they navigate narrow streets and crowded neighbourhoods with vaccine carriers in hand, the threat is no longer limited to resistant parents - stray dogs are increasingly putting their lives at risk.

For frontline vaccinators, an ordinary house-to-house visit can suddenly turn into a desperate dash for safety. Workers say aggressive dogs often emerge from neighbourhood streets and alleyways, forcing them to abandon vaccination efforts and run for cover. Several have sustained dog bites during previous campaigns, making the growing stray dog population an increasingly serious occupational hazard.

Polio workers said they encounter numerous difficulties from the moment they leave their respective union councils early in the morning, but stray dogs remain among their biggest concerns. Their duties require them to reach every household, including narrow lanes and densely populated neighbourhoods where large numbers of stray dogs roam.

At times, they said, dogs suddenly become aggressive, disrupting vaccination activities and forcing workers to flee. Several vaccinators have also been injured in attacks during previous campaigns.

The workers said they were already grappling with social and administrative challenges. The growing threat of stray dogs has added another layer of risk to an already demanding assignment.

Despite risking their safety to help make Pakistan polio-free, they complained that little was being done to protect them at the local level. They said repeated complaints had been lodged with town chairmen and local administrations, but had yielded no effective response.

According to the workers, officials often tell them that action cannot be taken against stray dogs because their capture or killing has been prohibited. However, the vaccinators stressed that they were not demanding the animals be killed, but wanted local government bodies to devise an effective and practical strategy to protect human lives.

They added that although security personnel were deployed to protect polio teams during vaccination campaigns, no permanent arrangements existed to shield workers from dog attacks in streets and neighbourhoods.

Sindh Expanded Progra-mme on Immunisation Project Director Dr Raj Kumar acknowledged the difficulties faced by frontline workers, describing their duties as extremely challenging.