IT has been several weeks since PTI chief Imran Khan announced that his party would be making polio vaccination a priority. During this time, there have been fresh reminders that the country ought to be very worried on this count, particularly in terms of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which is the source of the strain that has been found in other countries. Given this fact, it is encouraging to learn of some forward progress on this front. On Sunday, the provincial health department kicked off its Sehat ka Insaf immunisation campaign by vaccinating more than 400,000 children in 45 of Peshawar’s union councils. The effort was made possible with the help of some 2,770 persons, including health workers and PTI volunteers, as well as the police. Reportedly the biggest immunisation initiative to ever have taken place in the city, vaccinations against nine childhood illnesses, including polio, were administered, with, thankfully, no untoward incidents. Children in the city’s remaining 47 union councils are to be vaccinated next Sunday, the provincial health minister has promised, with the plan to be extended to other parts of the province later. This is praiseworthy, and it is to be hoped that the campaign is sustained and expanded.

Other provinces too need to focus on encouraging the vaccination of children. Further, what the state should think about at this juncture is formulating an expanded awareness-raising campaign through the media and other means to start changing the very damaging rhetoric that has been built up around polio in specific and vaccinations in general, and educate people on their importance and availability. As KP health department officials said on Sunday, almost every health facility has polio vaccinations available but because people do not know this, they do not bring their children. The same argument can be made about other vaccinations. There is simply no logic to children falling prey to life-threatening but preventable diseases either because people have been convinced they are harmful, or because they do not know where vaccines are available.