Anti-polio drive: If the campaign fails, virus will spread rapidly

Laws should be imposed to hold parents accountable, says Shahnaz Wazir Ali.

ISLAMABAD:

The prime minister’s key moderator in the anti-polio campaign said on Monday that the virus will spread rapidly if it is not controlled now.

Talking to the BBC after a news conference in connection with the launch of a three-day nationwide anti-polio drive, Shahnaz Wazir Ali said that if steps are not taken to curb the crippling disease, it will spread even faster than the present rate after April. She added that it might be too late to tackle it then.

At the press conference, Shahnaz said the main hurdle in polio eradication was the mindset of the people. She said the unrest in the tribal regions and certain edicts of local clerics against polio vaccines deterred the campaign’s reach.

The Prime Minister Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell has taken an initiative to introduce a legislation that would ensure that every single child is immune to the debilitating plague.

Shahnaz said that an initial draft of the bill titled ‘Compulsory Immunisation Bill 2012’ has been prepared and will be finalised after taking input from all the stakeholders.

Under the proposed legislation, children who are not vaccinated are not to be given admission in schools or allowed to apply for identity cards. Condemning the negative propaganda about polio vaccines, Shahnaz said there should be laws to hold parents accountable.

She told the BBC that the government had persuaded some religious scholars to dispel negative perceptions about the vaccines and added that more than 60,000 teams were actively taking part in the anti-polio drive.

Shahnaz admitted that loopholes existed in the current campaign which posed a big challenge for the country. “In the past, campaigns were not run as effectively as they should have been.”

She said that polio teams could not reach the areas which were inaccessible either due to recent catastrophes such as floods or insurgency in sensitive areas.

“It is true that even in Islamabad, polio coverage remains sub-optimal. The city’s administration has been asked to monitor all its areas vigilantly.” The aim of polio cell’s evaluation report is to highlight the true reach of efforts and suggest measures to improve them.

An MNA from Balochistan, Asiya Nasir, however, remained unconvinced that most polio cases were reported from far-flung areas. To prove her point, Nasir cited the example of the easily accessible Qila Abdullah area in Pishin.

MNA Humayun Saifullah Khan from Bannu said that there are many parents in his area who were not ready to get their children vaccinated.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 13^th, 2012.