Effective immunisation

The Sehat ka Insaf immunisation programme is by far the single biggest contribution of the PTI to the country.

Few things are done at the right time and at the right place in Pakistan. Such is the case with the polio vaccine. Failure to see the gravity of the problem in the past few years, has led to fears of the largest polio outbreak in Pakistan’s history this year. Finally, two provincial governments have taken ownership and woken up to the gravity of the problem with Sindh following up on Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Sehat ka Insaf campaign, which gives some hope to an otherwise crippling generation.

The Sehat ka Insaf immunisation programme is by far the single biggest contribution of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf to the country. The campaign ingeniously gives polio vaccinators some cover from incessant security threats by adding general health awareness and vaccinations for seven other diseases as part of the programme. Sindh should now also look into adopting Sehat ka Insaf wholly as opposed to only providing polio vaccinations, in order to ensure the campaign’s longevity as well as to provide better health conditions.

Nearly 400,000 children were vaccinated in Karachi on February 23, while in Peshawar, an average of 500,000 children have been immunised every week in four rounds of the campaign. Statistics show a 700 per cent increase in the number of polio cases in 2014 so far. Three cases were reported until February in 2013 in contrast to 21 for the same period this year. Of these, around 17 have been from North Waziristan where there has been a ban on polio teams since 2012.

With these appalling and frightening numbers, it is somewhat ironic that provinces are taking ownership of the ‘national’ immunisation campaign. It is time the centre steps up and recognises the issue as a national problem and develops a strategy to tackle it. Otherwise, history will see the federal government’s public silence on the matter as criminal.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2014.

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