Polio 56, Pakistan zero

The number of polio cases in Pakistan so far this year is 56, roughly the same as the number of cases in the country in 2012. By December 2013, this number is expected to exceed last year’s record. To exacerbate the situation, a recent report concluded that the person heading the Prime Minister’s Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell for the past two years has not been actively involved in the government’s efforts for the cause because he had taken up another position with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in violation of the Cell’s rules. While polio continues to emerge, the Polio Monitoring and Coordination Cell has been having internal management issues resulting in disconcertion. These updates elucidate that the government’s efforts to freeze polio in its tracks have not been very impactful. They further underscore the need to develop a more effective campaign and prioritise the eradication of polio, particularly in the Fata region, rather than becoming entangled in the web of mismanagement by the Coordination Cell.

The implications of polio not being eradicated should be enough to augment a massive campaign across provinces. Not only do children lead handicapped lives, they must live in that condition in a country where facilities for the handicapped barely exist. Resistance to giving children the polio vaccine still prevails and this is where health workers need to correct people’s misconceptions. Also, for a country whose passport already holds little trust with other countries, a potential travel ban on Pakistanis would be an even greater blow.

It is a shame that Pakistan lags behind India, which, with its much larger population and existence in the same region, has managed to eliminate polio from the country altogether. Instead of being caught in a never-ending cycle of mismanagement, the Cell must refocus on its objectives. We must finish off polio before we embarrassingly allow the number of cases this year to supersede last year’s number.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 11^th, 2013.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.