Battling polio

A little girl dragging her weak limbs across the street, a young adult with a malformed body in an insolent spirit, the plight of a child who is unable to move and the sadness in his eyes when he sees other children play around, are just some of the painful and familiar sights which we all recognise as cases of polio.

Well known since ancient times, polio is a disease which leaves behind remains of morbidity and disability causing tremendous distress to millions of families all over the world. According to Dr Mubina Agboatwala, Member Pakistan Paediatric Association and HOPE (Health Oriented Preventive Education), polio is caused by infection due to one of the three types of viruses, all of which are capable of causing paralysis. “Children under the age of five frequently get affected and once the susceptible person gets infected, the virus than spreads through the lymph glands and blood to the spinal cord and brain,” she explained.

“We need to understand how a whole family is affected when a child develops polio. We need to mobilise all our resources to eliminate this dreaded disease,” she said.

OPV: Oral Polio Vaccine

Poliomyelitis still continues to be a major cause of infantile paralysis especially in developing countries, even after World Health Organisation (WHO) in the year 1988 and Rotary International in 1985 committed themselves to eradicate polio from the world by the year 2000.

“The Rotarians worldwide wanted to give the gift of life to the children around the globe on its golden jubilee in 2005 and have succeeded quite well except for few countries amongst which Pakistan lay top,” said Muhammad Faiz Kidwai, Past District Governor Rotary Club. According to Rotary International, three billion dollars were donated for the polio campaign around the world. Besides that Rs850 million were contributed by Rotary Club Pakistan and the campaign ran effectively till 2005.

In Pakistan, the fight against polio is now approaching a critical phase. There has been a sudden increase in polio cases since 2009, which has caused an alarming situation in the country and the condition seems to be getting out of control. There are a number of reasons that have played an unconstructive role in hindering the war against polio. The war against terrorism, recent floods and the hurdles created by Taliban militants by their false preaching about the polio campaign have all contributed towards the swelling of the disease.

In the year 2009, 300,000 children could not be given polio vaccination in Swat valley due to obstruction formed by militants. A medical emergency was triggered in Swat as the militants across the valley preached the idea through mosques and illegal radio stations that the vaccinations cause infertility and are a part of US-subsidised anti-Muslim stratagem. “Our society is an Islamic one where people strictly follow ulemas. However, a few illiterate ulema misguide the less educated people who trust them blindly,” says Maulvi Jahanzeb from Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa. To clear the prevailing misconception, in 2009 the Rotarians held an ulema convention, wherein, according to Kidwai, ulemas from different regions were invited and given lectures. These lectures were under the light of fatwas given by ulemas from around the world especially from countries like Saudi Arabia which is most trusted. The convention succeeded in convincing the people and ulemas across the northern region. The convention also encouraged people to give a three-minute awareness message after every Friday prayer in the towns and also via text messages.

Besides religious misconception, another perceived notion among the general public is that the vaccines expire once taken out from the cold chain. In this regard, Kidwai says, “In order to conserve the cold chain (temperature controlled supply chain), Rotary International has provided containers that can preserve the vaccine from expiring for as long as seven hours.”

The preservation of vaccines is an issue that is often witnessed in interior regions of Pakistan where there is lack of cold storage facilities. Another important hurdle that affects the vaccination drive is the distance and poor road conditions in interior Sindh and northern areas.

The health department recently held a 12-day immunisation campaign in northern regions but due to floods and dilapidated road conditions the upper Swat valley was once again deprived of the facility. In order to prevent further spread of the disease, the Rotary Club Pakistan has given a new proposal to the government.

All children should be vaccinated at entry and exit points such as, airports, toll plazas, railway stations and inter-city bus stands.

Although, a significant progress has been made by United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and Rotary International to eradicate polio in Pakistan, it it is still few steps away from achieving its goal.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2010.