The twin tragedies of a growing number of polio cases, crippling hundreds of children across the country, and the murder of health workers trying to protect them, have run side by side in our country for years and it seems the pattern is continuing. This week three persons, two lady health workers and the policeman assigned to protect them, were gunned down in the Danna area of Mansehra while delivering drops to children. The killings took the number of anti-polio workers and security personnel killed in the country since 2012 to 82. The brutal murder of the team taking part in the latest three-day drive against polio is a tragedy for us as a nation. In the first place such incidents tie in to the rising number of polio cases, with 306 reported in 2014 – a new record for the country.
What is also reflected in the situation is our failure to stop the killings. Yes, efforts have been made in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Fata, where most of the killings witnessed over the past three years have taken place, to enrol clerics and use their services to help promote vaccination. The federal and provincial governments have also joined hands to combat the onslaught of a disease the global epicentre of which now lies in Pakistan. But it is obvious a great deal still needs to be done if we are to fight back against polio. The murder of health workers discourages others from going out to reach children at risk and also demonstrates that the mindset that has prevented us from effectively combating polio remains in place. This mindset places children at risk as we continue our struggle against a virus that the rest of the world has widely succeeded in vanquishing.