IT is a statement difficult to substantiate, let alone defend. On Wednesday, Minister of State for National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, Saira Afzal Tarar, told a gathering in New Delhi that Pakistan has taken an aggressive anti-polio stance, and that the incidence of the disease went down in 2014.

Take, first, the earlier part of the comment. In the last month alone, Pakistan’s battle against the disease made headlines when once more polio workers were killed.

In the same month, it was discovered that a large consignment of the pentavalent vaccine — worth some $1.3m and of a quantity that could have vaccinated 400,000 infants — had spoiled whilst in storage at the National Health Services Ministry because the required temperature had not been maintained.

Take a look: Tarar reports anti-polio success to Saarc

It was also reported that the problem of parents refusing to allow the vaccine to be administered to their children has grown to such proportions that the state has resorted to the extreme step of arresting such persons.

Next, consider the figures. As the sun set on 2014, Pakistan’s polio tally crossed 300, and the country broke its own shameful record of more than a decade of the highest number of cases reported in a single year — the previous high of 199 had been recorded in 2000.

True, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative has acknowledged that “strong, functional emergency operations centres are now operational both at the federal and provincial levels” in the country, and that strategising is under way. In view of this, Ms Tarar’s statement was, at best, an attempt to save face.

Meanwhile, it is ironic that the forum Ms Tarar was addressing consisted of health ministers from the Saarc countries. India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka were all certified polio-free last year by WHO.

The only other Saarc country not on this praiseworthy list is Afghanistan, which joins Pakistan as one of the world’s last three (the third being Nigeria) polio-endemic countries.

Even there, only one case has been reported so far this year, as opposed to 21 from this country. If Pakistan faces significant challenges vis-à-vis polio, was the same not true of all the other countries mentioned above, but which have succeeded in their endeavour?

Instead of trying to gloss over a bad situation, Pakistan would be better served carefully studying the polio eradication strategies developed by its neighbours, and trying to follow suit.

Published in Dawn, April 11th, 2015

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