SINCE the World Health Organisation advised in early May that restrictions be placed on people travelling from countries that export the polio virus, notable amongst them Pakistan, most of the world has shown grace in allowing us time to clean up our act. There has been some activity on this count, with the government having imposed from June 1 a travel ban on people not able to produce a government-issued vaccination certificate and the setting up of vaccination booths at international airports, etc and — on paper, at least — a renewed resolve to overcome the myriad challenges that lie in the path of improving matters. Most recently, on Sunday, Islamabad hosted an international conference on polio eradication that was attended by about 50 clerics from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Nigeria. Also present were representatives of the International Islamic Fiqh Academy, Al Azhar University and King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah. According to the press release, Minister of State for National Health Services, Saira Afzal Tarar, had sought the guidance and aid of clerics in eradicating polio.

Given the situation, there is no doubt that the step must be appreciated. Other than plain misinformation or the lack of awareness, much of the resistance in parts of Pakistan to having the vaccine administered to children has been the result of the manner in which the anti-polio campaign has been made contestable on religious grounds by extremist elements. Nevertheless, there is great irony in Ms Tarar regretting that Pakistan remains one of the world’s only three polio-endemic countries (the others being Afghanistan and Nigeria). The fact is that even at this critical juncture, and notwithstanding efforts such as vaccination booths and conferences, nowhere in evidence is the urgency and tight coordination among governmental and administrative circles that the situation warrants. Polio cases are still being reported with distressing frequency; in fact, it was reported yesterday that a five-month-old from Datta Khel in the tribal areas is the latest to succumb, bringing the number of cases detected to 83 this year alone. Worryingly, the challenges are set to mount — and fast. With the military operation now under way in North Waziristan, estimates say that there will be 300,000 unvaccinated children among the flood of non-combatants that are set to flee the region. Has the government a real plan, one that goes beyond good intentions and promises? We have yet to see any.

Published in Dawn, June 19th, 2014