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.
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One does not have to look far to find the reason why Pakistan is the “single most important stumbling block along the road to ending polio”.It is the inevitable consequence of Pakistan’s obsession for boxing above her weight class and nurturing an outsize military in order to seek parity with India leaving limited resources for carrying out a sustained and widespread polio vaccination program which is near 100% effective.
Till such time as Pakistan accepts the immutable reality that she is inferior to India and throttles back on parity seeking military expenditure, Children of Pakistan’s Civilians will have to continue to suffer consequences of an easily preventable diseases like Polio which requires nothing more than the administration of a vaccine to prevent.
Seeking parity with India by gorging on shiny new eye candy weapon systems, maintaining the Generals, Marshalls and Admirals of the Military in the princely Mughal style they are used to and strutting the world stage as the “Sole Islamic Nuclear Power” and “Citadel of Islam”, will as former Prime Minister Z.A. Bhutto put it require Pakistan “Eating Grass”.
The solution is thus rather straight forward. Pakistan needs to accept the reality that she is India’s inferior.
The big question that then remains is will Pakistan make the rational choice and junk the braggadocio of attempting to seek equality with India? Or will it accept the inevitable consequence of misallocation of resources entailing children of Pakistan’s civilians figuratively “Eating Grass” and suffering the scourge of a disease that can be eradicated with a simple vaccine?
The inability of Pakistan to vaccinate children against polio making Pakistan, in the words of WHO Director General “the single most important stumbling block along the road to ending polio”, has the potential of adversely effecting India through spread of the disease across the border into India. So in order to prevent the polio virus joining the list of other unwelcome exports from Pakistan into India; namely terrorists, firearms, ammunition, explosives, illegal narcotics and counterfeit Indian currency notes, it would be more prudent for India to just stop providing visa’s to Pakistanis to visit India and simultaneously prohibit Indian’s from visiting Pakistan.
India should not permit herself to be swayed by sympathy inducing arguments about the need for maintaining people to people contact, helping divided families and using visit visas as confidence building measure to foster peace. India must instead be free to enjoy the fruits of eschewing the temptation of acquiring lots of nuclear “bums” and weapon systems in order to make resources available for polio eradication unlike Pakistan.
nine out of 10 children in the world that have polio live in Pakistan. . Worth repeating - if that ain't a wake up call I don't know what is.