Combating polio

Pakistan has been, and is, determined to join the rest of the world in being polio-free. On Tuesday, the WHO announced that Africa is now officially polio-free. This means that Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world still endemic for the disease. No doubt, this situation must change as soon as possible. A severe setback had been delivered by the Covid-19 pandemic which meant that anti-polio campaigns had to be suspended in March given the lockdown and the problems with reaching people. But the country's united stand against Covid-19 seems to have worked, and can be used as inspiration for this fight for the future of our children. If we could launch proper campaigns targeting the coronavirus, there is no reason for us not to be able to come up with an effective strategy against the polio virus. Keeping this in mind no doubt, Pakistan has relaunched efforts to end this debilitating and fatal virus as quickly as possible. The anti-polio campaign resumed in the middle of July this year. Now, another round has begun to try and fill the gaps left by the Covid disaster and to get to even more children who had missed out on vaccinations then.

This year, Pakistan has recorded 65 cases of the polio virus. In 2018, we were on the brink of vanquishing polio once and for all from our country. In what should only be seen as a positive step – and which needs to be endorsed by everyone across the board – the government has initiated a brave new initiative in the worst affected districts in all four provinces to ensure that we see the end of this disease. The number of cases documented so far this year is high but there appears to be a new determination to counter it. The government’s polio help teams have issued clear Covid-related rules to vaccination teams, including the requirements that they do not touch a child or any other family member. This shows that planning has been careful and well-thought-out.

We must hail the polio workers who have gone out into the field even in the existing circumstances. These are our everyday heroes, largely unsung, who display remarkable courage and fortitude. These teams will be working together with clerics, community workers, schoolteachers and other influential people in specific communities to try and make sure that every child under the age of five is successfully vaccinated and that parents are educated about the need for the anti-polio drops to be administered so that their children can be assured a safer future without the threat of a disease that has already crippled tens of thousands of people across the country. What we now need is for every circle of influence to come together and counter the serious and harmful rumours regarding polio drops. This is crucial to ensuring that every child is vaccinated and that Pakistan can very soon escape the stigma of being a nation that is afflicted by polio. This is not just important for all of us in terms of our country’s standing in the global community but this is a matter of the survival of many of our children.