Polio: The other war

Polio workers in Pakistan risk everything to free the country from a crippling disease

Last year, Pakistan hit a new low when it broke its own 14-year record with 202 reported polio cases, most of them from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). This came as no surprise given the resistance towards the administration of polio drops in the country and the consistent attacks on immunisation teams that have claimed 67 lives since December, 2012.



While most of the deceased polio workers have been targeted on duty, there have also been rare attacks on their residences. Falak Niaz, a 40-year-old polio supervisor hailing from the Saro village in Charsadda still remembers the cold April night last year when militants stormed his house in the middle of the night. “It was a horrific night,” he recalls. “Militants operating in Mohmand Agency attacked our house at midnight, sprayed it with bullets and later hurled hand grenades to cause maximum damage.” The attack left his wife, two brothers and mother severely injured. “We were crying for help but the policemen at the police station, which is at a walking distance, didn’t bother to come and rescue us,” he shares. It was not until the neighbours started firing that the militants fled.

The bullet-ridden gate of the house where Falak Niaz and his family was attacked by militants. PHOTO BY HAMID HUSSAIN

Pakistan is one of the three countries still affected by polio. The resistance towards immunisation has only made things worse over time. PHOTO BY HAMID HUSSAIN 

Lady health workers have been administering polio drops to children since 1993, when Pakistan started official campaigns to eliminate polio. Things took a downward turn, however, when the Central Intelligence Agency organised a fake vaccination campaign in the town where they believed the former Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden was hiding. Soon after, polio teams became a frequent target for militant groups who see the vaccination campaigns as a cover for espionage, spies and a conspiracy to sterilise Muslims.

“They were shouting loudly saying you are doing this for American infidels and now we will teach you a lesson for helping Americans in their conspiracy against Muslims,” recalls Niaz’s wife, Nazia, a lady health worker at the Rural Health Center in Ekkagund area of Mohmand Agency, who has been associated with anti-polio campaigns for the past 12 years.



Nazia shares that she was terrified after the murder of Salma Farooqi, a polio vaccinator in Peshawar, in March 2014, and had often even contemplated leaving the job. But her husband talked her out of it and even joined the campaign himself to protect his wife, who wanted to serve people but had to travel alone in the area to do so.

Nazia along with her family has moved to her sister-in-law’s house after the attack since flashbacks from that fateful night still haunt her. The fear was not unwarranted as her husband also received a letter from a militant group (which he refused to name due to safety reasons) soon after and was told to visit their commander in the Kunar province of Afghanistan. There, he was asked to pay Rs250,000 for ammunition used in the attack on his house or be prepared to lose his family. “I had no choice but to pay money for the bullets that injured my mother, brothers and wife,” he said. Nazia elaborates that no government official visited her after the attack. Their request to the district health department of Charsadda and the political agent for Mohmand Agency for financial assistance also fell on deaf ears.

(Above) Falak Niaz shares his ordeal in his relative’s hujra in Shabqadar, Charsadda. (Below) Bullet holes inside one of the rooms in Falak Niaz’s house.PHOTO BY HAMID HUSSAIN 

On the other hand, Nazia’s resolve to eradicate the crippling disease strengthened further. “I fear for my life but I am determined to administer polio drops to children in the area,” she says adding that the number of polio refusal cases have gone down as misconceptions have been clarified to a great extent and people are now in favour of polio vaccination — only one polio case was reported in Shabqadar last year. However, she adds that the security of polio workers continues to be their biggest challenge. The problem is echoed by 57-year-old Rubina Bibi, a lady health worker from Katlang tehsil, as well. “I take a pistol with me for protection and I want to tell the Taliban militants that you cannot deter us from our mission,” she says. “I am too old for this job but I have to do it to set an example for young women so they can join the campaign against polio as well.”

Sadaqat Ali, a police constable in the area, shares that he has accompanied polio workers during anti-polio campaigns and would continue to do so because it has now become a matter of honour for him and his police force. “I know [that the] Taliban are well-armed and I [only] have a few dozen bullets but this war is not about weapons. It is a matter of courage and honour,” he says. Twenty two-year-old Sohrab Khan, who also took part in the recent anti-polio campaign, feels that the government should announce special incentives for polio workers to boost their morale and also provide them security. “The sacrifices of polio workers must be recognised,” he adds.



Security for polio workers is a big problem in Shabqadar tehsil as it borders the Mohmand Agency where militants are known to be present, shares Dr Farhad Khan, coordinator Extended Program on Immunization for Charsadda. Peshawar-based political analyst Aqeel Yousafzai added that the attack on polio workers was a reaction to the government-military operation against terrorists. However, since the operation had compelled militants to flee from the tribal areas, it offers a great opportunity to expedite efforts against polio.

Amidst security threats to polio vaccinators, the K-P government is launching a fresh polio campaign on February 1 comprising of 12 one-day campaigns which would be held for 12 weeks in 14 districts across K-P and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. And the people in the area seem equally determined to defeat the disease along with the militancy that has allowed it to breed further. “This is my hometown and I will fight for my people come what may,” says Sohrab. “I want to tell the world that  militancy is not a part of Pakhtun culture. Rather, Pakhtuns are at the forefront, fighting it.”

Hamid Hussain is an Islamabad-based journalist. He tweets @Hamidlawangeen

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, February 1^st, 2015.