Polio continues

If we were to describe the polio virus, we could easily call it ‘a virus with many lives’. This definition seems true at least in the Pakistan context. The bane of our existence, the virus has decided to stay here, every year bringing new challenges to the country. The year 2024 has started with some distressing news for the country. At least two polio cases have been reported from Balochistan, affecting two children aged four and 2.5. What pains us more is the fact that the disease could have been avoided and the children could have been saved had they received timely vaccination. Reports suggest that parents’ vaccine hesitancy played a major role in depriving the children of the lifeline required to remain protected against lifelong disability. Officials also blame the virus being imported from Afghanistan for the sorry state of affairs in the country.

All that is being said has already been reported many times. Vaccine hesitancy is an old problem, and no government has shown any interest in raising awareness among people. There is a deep divide between people who are wary of government initiatives and state officials. The latter often see the former as an obstruction that pushes them further away from their monthly goals. In a country like Pakistan where mismanagement in healthcare has led to grave consequences – people losing their eyesight after being administered a locally manufactured injection, doctors operating on the wrong organ, and helpless parents losing their children to medical ignorance – such incidents have had a negative impact on most people who have lost trust in the country’s healthcare, both public and private.In rural areas, the communication between people and health officials is also disrespectful. This was highlighted during the 2022 floods when affected people complained about the humiliation they faced at medical camps organized by different charities and the government.

Defeating vaccine hesitancy means educating people about the importance of medicines, using all tools to assure them that a couple of drops of medicine are important for their children’s health and safety. This also calls for elected representatives and local leaders from the area to join hands with the government and keep their people from falling into the rabbit hole of myths and conspiracy theories that have done irreversible harm to multiple polio campaigns. Authorities also have to realize that they are dealing with frustrated and angry people, who are now unable to provide basic facilities to their children. Vaccine hesitancy, then, becomes a form of protest by parents, no matter how misplaced it is. Issues plaguing the vaccine drive have to be addressed. Children have a right to vaccination, and it is the responsibility of the state to ensure that that right is given to these children, irrespective of how adamant their parents are.