One of the only two nations with polio incidence, Pakistan becomes focus of intensified global fight against the disease
Last week, the global community observed the World Polio Day and celebrated the eradication of this crippling disease in around 99 per cent of the inhabited area of the planet. It was back in 1988 that the world had agreed to end polio by 2000 under the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI). Today, the situation is that this disease is not heard of all over the world, except two countries -- Pakistan and its neighbouring Afghanistan. Experts believe that the porous border between the two countries and the ease with which the inhabitants travel result in transfer of this virus from one country to the other.
So, for Pakistan there is another wrong reason to stay in the news and attract global attention. The imposition of travel restrictions on Pakistanis and the condition on every outbound Pakistani traveler, regardless of age, to produce polio vaccination certificate at the time of departure also hint at the lack of international community’s trust in the country’s polio eradication programme. This mistrust had increased drastically with the total number of polio cases in a year rising to 306 in Pakistan in 2014 -- one of the highest in country’s history.
However, a good news is that there is a sharp reduction of 85 per cent in polio cases and a significant drop in positive environmental samples collected from across the country. The Prime Minister’s Focal Person for Polio Eradication Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq has also shared this information with the world with pride and praised health workers for their courage in carrying out their polio vaccination against all threats to their lives. One must remember that in the period between July 2012 and February 2015, 80 polio workers and those protecting them were killed in armed attacks whereas 54 received serious injuries.
The ratio of refusals to vaccinations was also very high and many of the remote areas were totally inaccessible to the health workers but this year there is improvement in this respect as well. But what is more important here is that polio is not yet eradicated fully and may resurge like what has happened in the past, if long-term measures are not taken and attitudes and behaviours of people are not changed.
Against this backdrop, one finds that the world that has struggled hard to end polio has now focused its attention and diverted its funds towards this region. There are multiple multi-donor polio eradication programmes being run in the country in collaboration with the government of Pakistan and more and more technical support is also provided to those carrying out this programme.
Along with what the donors and the government are doing, the contributions coming from individual volunteers and welfare organisation are not less important and in some cases have proved to be highly beneficial. Susanne Rea, Project Partner and Global Partner, World’s Best Meal (WBM) Programme under Rotary International, is one such person who has motivated millions and contributed effectively to the campaign. She contracted polio when she was four years old but fortunately made a complete recovery. As a victim of this disease, she has set a goal to wipe it out from the face of the world and wage a relentless struggle till the time the objective is not achieved.
Currently on a trip to Pakistan, Susanne talked to TNS on how the outer world sees Pakistan and strives to help it defeat polio. She said since the virus invades the nervous system, it can cause irreversible paralysis in a matter of hours and leave victims crippled for life. Therefore, she says, it is imperative to tackle it before it attacks especially when it is not possible to reverse the impacts.
She says it is customary that Rotarians (members of Rotary Clubs) pay for themselves whenever they travel or participate in an event. Similarly, they pay for the food they consume during these events. The WGM initiative is about arranging virtual events or having frugal meals and donating the amount saved by not having expensive meals to polio eradication fund. This could be the best meal they could have, she says.
Susanne says they have been making donations to WHO and UNICEF which is routed to recipient countries like Pakistan. Besides, she says, the The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has shown confidence in their initiative and vowed to give a grant double the amount that Rotary International collects. This means for every dollar that they collect in donation the foundation will contribute two. In 2014, she says, Rotary members through WGM raised enough money to vaccinate nearly four million children against polio. The amount collected in 20 months’ time is to the tune of $4.2 million.
On the issues facing Pakistan, Susanne says they are holding events to raise awareness among communities, including opinion leaders and clergy, in campaigns and providing equipment as well for vaccination drives. She says no doubt the governments and countries have funds but the Rotary has an army of 1.3 million volunteers in the word to reach out to the masses and execute anti-polio programmes.
In her opinion, the increase in number of children vaccinated this year is due to their movement to down-country after the launch of armed action in the inaccessible areas in the north-west of the country. She adds that there is a long way to go and Pakistan needs to adapt to the emerging demands. For example, she says, with the introduction of injectable polio vaccine there will be a demand of trained vaccinators as it will not be as simple as administering polio drops orally.
Shahzad Ahmed, Past District Governor, KPK and Punjab, Rotary International tells TNS that they have provided thermos flasks in the past to vaccinators in Pakistan to ensure that the efficacy of vaccines is not lost due to heat. Similarly, he says, they have provided containers that have been placed at busy transit points like Badami Bagh, Pir Wadhai and Haripur to track moving populations and administer vaccines to them. He urges all the Pakistanis to stand against the onslaught of this disease and overcome all inhibitions in this regard. The success will come the day when parents all over the country will look out keenly for vaccinators to get their children vaccinated rather than vaccinators pleading to get access to them, he concludes.
Sajjad Hafeez, who works with Expended Program on Immunisation (EPI) team in Punjab, tells TNS that polio cannot be defeated till individuals, masses and the state join hands and help out each other. The support coming for the global community and dedicated international organisations is also very helpful. However, he says the government is also taking innovative steps to tackle this menace and using android platforms to trace the population covered or uncovered under the polio vaccination campaigns. The improvements recorded this year are also for the reason that systems are getting better with time, he concludes.