Polio’s nine lives

Call it our tragedy or a consequence of our short-term policies, but it seems that Pakistan is stuck in its own Groundhog Day-like episode where it keeps circling back to where it initially started in terms of healthcare. All the country has done so far to completely eradicate polio has proven insufficient as the year 2024 continuously sees a rise in polio cases. Recent reports suggest that the country has registered its ninth polio case. The affected child is from Zhob and is only a year and a half old. To put things in perspective, last year the country reported a total of six cases. The fact that in the first seven months of the current year, a 50 per cent increase has been noted in polio cases is alarming. What’s worse for the world? These warning bells are not limited to Pakistan. The polio virus has lately been detected in sewage samples collected from the war-torn and occupied strip in the Middle East. Till now, Pakistan and Afghanistan were the only two countries where the virus was an epidemic, but it seems that the virus is slowly regaining its strength in different parts of the country. In the besieged strip, lack of access to healthcare, exacerbated by the ongoing war, raises concerns over the possible challenges children could face if they contract the virus.

For Pakistan, however, there is no justification for the rise in polio cases. That there is vaccine hesitancy among parents is a well-known fact, and it is shameful that the government has not been able to influence people’s opinion all these years. Experts point to the low vaccination rate as a cause of a rise in polio cases, but they fail to provide an awareness plan to convince parents to get their children vaccinated. Yes, the government has indeed been doing a lot to ensure the safety of children against the virus, but it has to do more to tackle vaccine hesitancy.

A child cannot make independent decisions. Besides his/her parents and guardians, the government is also responsible for ensuring that a child is not affected by an avoidable health condition. Why do we not see short clips on social media about the importance of polio vaccines? Or why does the government not meet with community leaders and assuage their fears, encouraging them to motivate their people to vaccinate their children? Or why does it not think about bringing influencers and content creators on board to start the conversation about vaccination? Why do we lag in creating effective channels on different social media platforms? The level of medical misinformation in this country is astounding. On top of it, we have let loose people who spread dangerous lies about vaccines, influencing parents’ opinions. The government can no longer use vaccine hesitancy and other challenges as its immunity badge. It has to do more to eradicate the virus, which can lead to lifelong deformities and paralysis, from the country.