Polio rising

With its 14th case of polio reported this year, Pakistan is once again sliding rapidly on this ignominious scale. The latest victim is an eight-year-old girl from Miranshah in North Waziristan. Of the 14 cases reported, 13 have been from North Waziristan – of which nine being in just one union council Mir Ali –whereas one from Lakki Marwat – all in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. North Waziristan has been showing dismal results of anti-polio campaigns mainly because the local people are still reluctant to vaccinate their children. Not surprisingly, all 14 victims are aged under two years, meaning that the drives in the last 24 months either did not reach these families or the parents simply refused vaccination. Around the world polio campaigns have been extremely successful and Afghanistan and Pakistan remain the only two countries that are still afflicted with the poliovirus.

Interestingly, even Afghanistan has reported just one polio case in the first seven months of this year. In the first quarter of this year, Pakistan did not report a single polio case enhancing hope that the country could finally achieve the target that has remained elusive for the past many years despite persistent efforts of polio teams. But the second quarter dashed all such hopes and within three months the situation changed with as many as 13 cases from April to June and the 14th in the last week of July. That Pakistan is a polio-endemic country is something that cautions other countries dealing with Pakistan. Pakistanis travelling to other countries have to get extra certification of vaccination. In the international community, the Pakistani passport which is already at one of the lowest rungs further loses acceptability. Though the national emergency operations centres of Afghanistan and Pakistan are continuing cross-border coordination efforts, there is much more that needs to be done. The synchronization of two polio campaigns in May and June this year in Afghanistan and Pakistan may provide some good results. All transit points should vaccinate children under 10 while vaccinating all ages at the international borders.

What is even more disappointing is that Pakistan stayed polio-free for nearly 15 months and then reverted to being polio-endemic. The vaccine-refusal issue needs a more comprehensive approach than just launching a drive and waiting for results. These are not just a handful of families that have been refusing. Since this is an infectious disease, other parts of KP also remain at risk especially Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, and Tank that are not far from Waziristan. Environmental samples have already indicated the presence of the poliovirus there. Polio vaccinators have been putting their lives in danger as there have been dozens of attacks in which many vaccinators and their guards have lost their lives. The government needs to revisit its entire strategy for KP; if the polio issue further spirals, we will have lost years of dedicated work.