All eyes are on events in Islamabad, and many political and other leaders have weighed in with their opinion on what shape the future should take.

They seem, however, to have forgotten one crucial thing: the possibility of any future at all depends on the population being healthy and able. And it is precisely here where Pakistan is heedlessly, and despite all warnings from several quarters, barrelling down a path that will surely lead to disaster.

We refer, of course, to the spectre of polio that not only is not being brought under control, but whose incidence is increasing rapidly. In the eight months that have elapsed so far this year, 117 new polio cases have been reported across the country, giving Pakistan the damning distinction of being the country worst hit by the crippling virus.

Most of these cases were reported from Fata and KP, where the public mindset and issues of both accessibility and potential violence have made matters very difficult for the vaccinators. But polio has also reared its head in Punjab and Balochistan, which until last year were considered free of the virus, and Karachi alone accounts for 10 of the total number of cases.

On Thursday, officials in Islamabad sought answers from provincial governments as to why there was such a persistent increase, pointing out that over two months had elapsed since the World Health Organisation recommended sanctions against unvaccinated travellers leaving the country.

The answers — if any are forthcoming — will be unpalatable. Despite the escalating risk, Pakistan is simply failing to keep up with the polio challenge. Nowhere are we seeing the sort of push that is needed, such as a sustained campaign to change the mindset of naysayers, a watchful eye being kept on people flooding out of the troubled northwest and the strict enforcement of travel requirements.

True, hundreds of thousands of doses have been administered, but that has clearly not been enough. What will it take for our health administrators to wake up?

Published in Dawn, August 23rd, 2014