Tackling polio
Tackling polio
Editorial
Editorial

Pakistan saw a drop in the following three years from 54, to 20 to 8 by hitting a high of 307 polio cases in 2014. The government is changing its strategy to reach the goal post of a polio-free Pakistan. In the previous year i.e. 2018, the government was supposed to give the final push to drive the crippling virus from the country. 

Pakistan saw a drop in the following three years from 54, to 20 to 8 by hitting a high of 307 polio cases in 2014. The government is changing its strategy to reach the goal post of a polio-free Pakistan. In the previous year i.e. 2018, the government was supposed to give the final push to drive the crippling virus from the country.

On the contrary the number’s of cases rising to 12 in the previous year and then to 24 so far this year. The latest case was reported over the weekend in Bannu Division of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P). Cumulatively, K-P and its newly-merged districts account for 18 of the total cases this year.

A three days Anti-Polio campaign will be kicked-off in 13 Districts of Balochistan in which more than 1.3 million children will be given polio drops.

5368 teams would be deployed to vaccinate children under the age of five.  At least 4556 mobile teams, 362 fixed points and 322 transit points have been deployed in 13 districts of Balochistan to make sure that all children should be administered with polio drops.

The three days anti-polio drive has commenced in Quetta, Pishin, Killa Abdullah, Zhob, Nasirabad, Mastung, Loralai, Lasbela, Khuzdar, Jaffarabad, Dukki, Dera Bugti and Chagai and other districts of Balochistan.

Quetta, Killa Abdullah and Pishin Districts have been declared as High-risk areas where polio virus is still active and endangering children for lifetime disability.

Despite that some militants and hardline religious figures have been known to fan rumours that vaccines contain ingredients forbidden in Islam, such as pork derivatives, or that can cause infertility as part of a conspiracy to reduce the population.

Attacks by militants have also been frequent, with nearly 100 people killed in assaults targeting vaccine teams since 2012. Despite the opposition, campaigners have reported progress with tens of millions of children vaccinated across the country along with a 96 percent drop in reported polio cases since 2014.

But as Pakistan nears its goal of ridding polio from its territory, new headwinds have arisen amid a growing global movement against inoculation. In addition to Pakistan, Polio is endemic in two other countries globally Afghanistan and Nigeria although a relatively rare strain was also detected in Papua New Guinea last year.

The environmental samples are still positive posing threats to the children to be crippled because of polio virus. Not when the progress made over the past four years is seriously threatened and not when all of the measures to amicably convince parents have failed. And those having malicious intent in the general population cannot be ignored either.

We suggest parents that don’t pay attention to the negative propaganda and rumors against polio vaccine. In fact polio vaccine is the safest vaccine used throughout the world for the eradication of polio. It is out national shame that despite the laudable sacrifices by our polio workers and the great work by the polio prgramme managers, we have been unable to eradicate the poliovirus from Pakistan.

The Polio National Programme’s decision to win over hearts and minds, instead of using force, is laudable. The whole nation should support the decision as well as the vaccination effort and there are no two opinions that polio drops are useful and should undisputedly be administered to every child.  This is a war for the survival of the next generation and we need honest and dedicated people to win this war.