ISLAMABAD: The overall public health scenario of Pakistan paints a bleak picture. One child dies every minute in Pakistan due to vaccine-preventable diseases, which contributes to the high infant mortality rate of the country. According to Unicef, out of every 1,000 children born in the country, 78 die in the first year of their lives and 30 leave the world within the first week after their birth.
The measles epidemic has so far claimed 146 lives throughout Pakistan, with 62 of them reported in Sindh. During the first four months of 2013, reported cases of measles have numbered over 25,000, with Punjab having the highest number of cases. There would have certainly been hundreds of unreported cases, too. Thousands of those affected by measles were children who were not vaccinated. The declining coverage of vaccination has resulted in this nightmare, with our country standing among the world’s top five countries when it comes to the number of unvaccinated children.
Vaccines are the cheapest way of saving millions of lives, improving health indicators and eliminating deadly diseases. Social mobilisation can bring a change, focusing on creating awareness among people regarding deaths caused by non-administration of vaccines.
The media can make people understand the gravity of the situation. Awareness campaigns must be launched in local languages and in the remotest parts of the country; messages must be aired using FM radio networks of the country. The importance of FM radio stations can be gauged from the fact that Mullah Fazlullah’s FM station spread the venom of religious extremism in Swat. So, why can’t the message of health be promoted using the same means.
Kashif Ali Rajper
Published in The Express Tribune, May 1st, 2013.
