Negotiating for polio immunisation

There is plenty of debate over the peace talks between the government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), particularly over what should and should not be on the negotiation table. While the pros and cons of the various debates can be argued upon, there needs to be little or no dispute over a recent proposal by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan that the polio eradication campaign should be part of the agenda. This proposal is understandable — particularly coming from the ruling party of the province that is most hit by polio and most desperately in need for an expanded immunisation programme — but the implication, that the state feels it is unable to do this on its own, is all too obvious.



It needs no repeating that the immunisers, though at risk in almost all areas of the country, are particularly threatened in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Aside from the threats faced on the ground while working in the province, many highly susceptible areas have been plainly inaccessible for immunisation teams. In the short term, the government desperately needs to address the issues of security and accessibility. However, even more long-term advantages must be aimed for, particularly in reversing the negative narrative surrounding the polio campaign and assuaging misplaced fears and superstitions commonly associated with immunisation in many parts of the country. If the government is successful in convincing the populace that polio immunisation is something that needs to be done for the benefit of the people, and if there is a concerted effort to dispel any and all reservations associated with immunisation and immunisers, the long-term positive implications for the battle against polio in Pakistan would be abundant.

It is unfortunate that the writ of the state is absent in many areas, and that government campaigns have been unable to break the asphyxiating hold of negative perceptions surrounding anti-polio drives and medications — but this is a pressing reality that needs to be dealt with pragmatically and on a war footing. However, we must be cautious of what the recent proposal may mean for the country in the long term, especially given that the TTP do not recognise the writ of the state, while the state clearly feels the need to seek their help.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 14^th, 2014.

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