A stumbling block
The consequences of losing the fight against polio are unthinkable, and as of today we are not winning
There were five new polio cases confirmed in Pakistan on September 25, bringing the tally for 2014 to 171 — and rising. There is going to come a point, and it may not be far off, when this year’s polio outbreak becomes truly out of control. The five cases are spread across the country — two from Fata, one from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, one from Karachi and one from Balochistan. So far this year Punjab has reported two cases. The cases in Karachi and Quetta are said to be in families where there is ‘vehement refusal’ to receive the vaccine. The family in Quetta believe that the anti-polio campaign is part of a Western plot to limit the growth of the Muslim population. There are also anecdotal reports of families allowing only girls to receive the vaccine, out of fear that the boys in the family may be rendered impotent if vaccinated. Of further concern are reports that the vial is not being maintained to keep the vaccines at an optimum temperature, and that some of the vaccines being administered are sub-standard. It is reported that there is to be an emergency meeting in Islamabad, chaired by the Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, to be attended by the chief ministers of the four provinces. However, the meeting cannot take place soon enough.
Outside of Pakistan there is growing alarm at the way cases are mounting. The Director of the World Health Organisation, Dr Margaret Chan, was blunt in her assessment. She commented that Pakistan was the single most important stumbling block along the road to ending polio’, and that nine out of 10 children in the world that have polio live in Pakistan. There is a meeting of the Independent Monitoring Board for Polio on September 30, and it is at least possible that further restrictions will be placed on those who travel to and from Pakistan. Travellers are already required to have a valid polio vaccination certificate before boarding international flights. The consequences of losing the fight against polio are unthinkable, and as of today we are not winning.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2014.
Outside of Pakistan there is growing alarm at the way cases are mounting. The Director of the World Health Organisation, Dr Margaret Chan, was blunt in her assessment. She commented that Pakistan was the single most important stumbling block along the road to ending polio’, and that nine out of 10 children in the world that have polio live in Pakistan. There is a meeting of the Independent Monitoring Board for Polio on September 30, and it is at least possible that further restrictions will be placed on those who travel to and from Pakistan. Travellers are already required to have a valid polio vaccination certificate before boarding international flights. The consequences of losing the fight against polio are unthinkable, and as of today we are not winning.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 26th, 2014.